“My family don't talk about my incarceration ... but they do thank God that the son, the brother, the father is home.” —Stephen
Some might say sports are in Stephen Barbee's blood. His father was recruited by several professional baseball teams. He refused to play games on Sundays and became a preacher instead. But for Stephen, growing up in Kansas in the 1970s, football, track, and baseball were everything.
His dad was present at every game. Stephen remembers one football game in particular; he fumbled the ball and the crowd groaned. Above the crowd, he heard the voice of his father: “Shake it off, son. Keep your head up.”
Athletic achievement gave Stephen—a pastor’s kid who was more often associated with his dad’s name than his own—a chance to establish an identity of his choosing. It felt good to be admired, but this world also brought new temptations: alcohol, marijuana, and then harder drugs.
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