Stevenson Sylvester: “My mother was the most significant influence. At a young age, she was a single mother who raised me and my brother, then when my aunt got into trouble, her six kids were going to be placed into foster care so my mother took them in as well. She was a social worker and knew how the foster system worked. So as a single mother she raised eight kids- we were tight. She took care of us without much child support or funds from the state. She made it happen and that instilled hard work in us at a young age.”
Matthew Sexton: “My mom and brothers – we’ve gone through a lot together. Without my mom I couldn’t have made it this far.”
Bud Dupree: “I took it upon myself to – to have a mindset even in middle school to change the life of others around me. To help them see the potential they have. So I took on that leadership role. My mother was also a leader in the community – so seeing her also inspired me to be a leader.”
Franco Harris: “The trainers and equipment guys- Ralph, Tony Parisi, Frank Shuley – they were special to us. Special guys. My mother the first time she met Tony – she told him in Italian – she didn’t ask, she commanded – “You take care of my son.” And he did.”
Chapelle Russell: “My mother was the queen of the house – she pushed us and led the way.”
Hebron Fangupo: “Pete Carroll said it best – he wanted to recruit Polynesian kids when he was a college coach – he told my mother that. My mother asked him why, and he told her it was because Polynesian kids were taught at a young age to be respectful and listen. You only had to tell us once. “
Deon Figures: “ I wanted to come back quickly because my mother was dying of cancer and I wanted her to see me play one last time. She loved football! But she passed away the Monday before my first game back.”
Max Starks: “My charity work started when I was a kid. My mother took me to the Salvation Army every Christmas and Thanksgiving to serve food to the homeless and that’s where it started.”
Dwight Stone: “When you have a mother who never complained and never made excuses naysayers never bothered me…”
Mike Logan: “I was able to come home and spend time with my mother who passed away at the age of 51. She said one of her proudest moments was seeing her son play in the Super Bowl for the Steelers. I’ll always have that memory entrenched in my mind.”
Continue reading “Steelers Reflections on their Mothers on Mother’s Day”
