Happy Father’s Day To All Fathers…Especially Mine!

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; General view of the NBA logo and the Sprint Arena at the 2013 jam session for the NBA All-Star game at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

I would like to say Happy Father’s Day to all fathers out there grinding to take care of their families. To the staff of Pippen Ain’t Easy, I would love to extend that to your fathers  as well. As a father of three sons Damian (20), Solomon (8) and Isaiah (6) I can tell you that being  a dad is a full-time gig. There are a lot of responsibilities that many people don’t notice to keep a family going and thriving. I would like to take time out of chasing Carmelo Anthony’s thought process to talk about my Dad, Walter Agers who could teach some players of the NBA a thing or two about handling things in life.

Handling Adversity:

I remember as a kid finding my Dad in his bedroom with tears in eyes crying. It was only three times in my lifetime I had seen him cry. The others were when my brother passed and my Grandmother passed. He had made the decision  to leave a company that he had been working for over 10 years. Understand that he had a family to support and he was going out on faith and belief in himself that he was doing the right thing. After that, I never saw him troubled over it again. My Father never made an excuse and never looked back. He went out and got a job right then and there. He worked for a college in South Carolina until he ended getting a job that turned out to be better than the company he was working for up until he retired. Why you ask? That said company he left closed down permanently.

Who this story can help: The Miami Heat

This team as of this writing has been slapped upside the head in the NBA Finals to the point of embarrassment. After getting a split in San Antonio they went back to Miami with a sense of entitlement. They left Miami with a boot with a big “Spur” in it in their collective behinds. Let’s forget the series, if they want to win another game, the Heat need to start believing in themselves (don’t let those press conferences fool you, they look  about as lost as you can get) and get to work and improve their situation.

Being a leader and a hard-working professional:

My Father, Walter Agers is the undisputed leader in this family. Period. He’s the guy that makes all of the tough decisions and doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. No one can deny how hard the man works at home, at work or at play. He walks the walk and talks the talk. Even at my age and with my experience in the workforce in any job (including this one) no major decision is made without advice to consider from him. When the family went to my Father’s retirement party, all of the employees that worked for him told stories of how he was a consummate professional and the impact that he had on their lives. One said it in tears. Based on what he has accomplished in life and with all of the challenges that he has had to face (He grew up in the Civil Rights Era too) you would be a complete idiot not to listen and soak up the knowledge.

Who this story can help: Carmelo Anthony

In 11 years in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony has never made a NBA Finals, only made it out of the first round twice and made one Western Conference Final. With all of this talent this man has (Man he has a ton!) why is it his teams don’t win? He is a terrible leader in the locker room. Don’t let the season from two years ago fool you. Jason Kidd ran that locker room. Maybe that helped him parlay it into the Brooklyn Nets gig this past year. Carmelo has not shown himself to be a good teammate and he may be on his way to his third team searching for a championship. He may can score, but he does not defend, he does not pass and does not make his teammates better. Just because you can drop 27 points a night doesn’t make you a leader. It makes you the best player on a lottery team. Someone has to do it.

Being a visionary and sticking to your beliefs that you are doing the right thing:

Pippen Peoples you may think I’m lying but “The Decision” does not put the Agers family in the mind of LeBron James. That word belongs to Walter Agers. Back in 1989 my senior year of high school, my Father felt it was time to move.

Now understand that it WAS NOT a popular decision for many reasons.

My Mom just got a nice gig as an Assistant Principal at an elementary school.

I was all good and ready for the senior trip. Man it was to the Bahamas and it was only$250.00. Man I even planned to study that year JUST to get to go. I had a job lined up to get the money. I was set.

When we moved, My Father had to deal with some mess that your worst enemy shouldn’t deal with. I rebelled acted a  fool, argued fussed and argued through my senior year. If the man would have  thrown me in the street, no jury in the world could have convicted him. He had to deal with more mess than Mr. Obama based on that one decision to move the family.

Now it’s 2014. Based on that one move. Everyone in the family has benefitted. My Mom eventually became a Principal and retired in 2005. Now she is still working as a Principal coach for the county.

I went on to college and eventually became a Newscast Director, something that I have been doing to this day. Furthermore other opportunities came open like teaching in college for a semester, having a radio show, becoming a radio correspondent for the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) and now this venture.

All of this because of “The Decision”.

Who this story can help: The Chicago Bulls front office.

Gar Forman and John Paxson have a lot of decisions to make in this offseason. They could be right or they could be wrong but they have to block out the noise and criticisms from everyone and do what’s right for the franchise. Well except for Pippen Ain’t Easy, your best choice for Chicago Bulls news, previews and reviews. Whatever decision you make a lot of people are watching.

This is a special article dedicated to a man who I strive to be like. Everybody wants to be like Mike…I just want to be like my Pops.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!!

Your son,

Erick