While thousands adore him each Sunday, few know him well. That's why he keeps his inner circle so tight." "That's really why he hasn't had a lot of long-term friends. "Once Julius started to see that people like that barber weren't just looking for a genuine friendship, he backed away," Carey said. A barber he became close with made it known he was looking to get paid. Much of his skepticism toward outsiders dates back to his final year of college, when he was projected as a top two draft pick. The decision landed him a four-game suspension after he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. During his rookie season with the Panthers, he took a teammate at his word on a dietary supplement. Don't trust the people that just come and go." … If a person is around long enough, you'll see whether they care about you for real. "I would say, 'Trust your family.' But that's not always the truth. The two-sport star eventually learned to channel his frustration toward sacks and dunks. "Yeah, I had a couple of scuffles or two." It was the first time for me being by myself, and I got into everything you could think of. "I was so sheltered as a kid that when I went to college, it was like taking the chains off," Peppers said. With Foster back home and Carl Carey - his one-time college academic adviser who would become his agent - not totally in the picture yet, Peppers let loose. Trouble seemed to find Peppers once he left his mother's watch for the University of North Carolina. "She was the perfect person to look up to. Peppers called his hard-working mother his "role model." Talking to your parents is a great idea - if you have that relationship with them." "I had a mentor (high school coach Brian Foster), and I was able to talk to him about some things. "That's something that I struggled with - talking to my mother about some of the problems that I had," Peppers told the boys. And learning how to deal with my problems and talking about them. "Finding real friends - that's something that was an obstacle for me. No doubt it ate at Peppers, but he never expressed his frustration at home. In high school, other students often confused his quiet nature for ignorance. Peppers kept to himself, even in his mother's tiny trailer back in Bailey, N.C. Throughout a candid question-and-answer session with 12 young boys he was treating to an early Christmas, Peppers shed light on the pivotal experiences of his life. Peppers' detachment from his father wasn't the only aspect that molded him. Of all the life lessons Peppers has learned, forgiveness is among them. Sunday, when the Bears face the Jets in their final regular-season home game, Kurney will be there, thanks to the plane ticket purchased by his superstar son. "He was there, but just from a distance." He just wasn't around a lot," Peppers said. He doesn't hold any animosity toward his father, George Kurney. He never had much of a relationship with his father while growing up in a trailer in North Carolina with two siblings. He was raised by his single mother, Bessie Faye Brinkley. The 12 boys are part of the organization's Metro Chicago agency that services 1,800 children, 95 percent from single parent or economically disadvantaged homes and more than half have an incarcerated family member. Their mesmerized looks had plenty to do with the $100,000 check Peppers presented to Big Brothers Big Sisters as part of his personal initiative, "Game Plan for Life." And their emotions were triggered by how frankly the usually reserved Peppers spoke. In the eyes of Javon and the 11 other boys there from Big Brothers Big Sisters, the 6-foot-7, 283-pound defensive end seemed larger than life. 90 Bears jersey and a smile that spread across Dave and Buster's, 11-year-old Javon Jackson was awestruck as he stood next to Julius Peppers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |