NBA Vet’s Fatherhood Book a Slam Dunk
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By DERON SNYDER
Etan Thomas is on a mission. While the 6-foot-9 forward would like to resume his 11-year NBA careerafter sitting out last season, his new quest has nothing to do with rebounds and blocked shots. It’s about affection and connections.
Thomas, a poet who also blogs for the Huffington Post, grew up in a single-parent household, like more than 60 percent of African-American children. His parents divorced when he was 7, and although he still saw his father regularly, Thomas grew to resent the void. He recognizes those same feelings in today’s youths during speaking engagements.
“When I go to correctional facilities, I see myself in those kids,” he said during a recent panel discussion on fathers, held just outside Washington, D.C. “There’s all this anger inside. A lot of them come from single-parent households and don’t know what to do with it. So they make bad choices.”
That’s just one reason he wrote Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge. It’s meant to inspire and encourage children — whether they’re living with one or both parents — and dads, whether they’re absent or active.
