Fatherhood With Propops and NBA Dads

---Entry updated 1/21/17--- A Winning Perspective AVAILABLE NOW in Amazon Kindle (Click here to download)

Less than 72 hours prior to the Miami Heat winning the 2012 NBA Championship, I was honored to share the panel in the Dads Conference with NBA dads, for PROPOPS first annual Fathers Day Celebration weekend. Propops Foundation Inc. is a community organization spearheaded by Dwyane Wade Sr. The foundation is committed to empowering fathers to be pillars within their children’s life and bringing fathers back to the forefront of the family. Mr. Wade’s greatest desire is to rebuild relationships between fathers and their children that will last for generations to come.

All dads including, Charles Paul (Chris Paul- LA Clippers), Noel Bosh (Chris Bosh- 2012 NBA Champions Miami Heat), and Ray Wright (Dorell Wright-Philadelphia 76ers), shared their insight on fatherhood and answered questions from attendees. The conference was a valuable learning experience and a moment for relationship building and encouraging positive father relationships no matter what.

You may know through observations of the entertainment industry and people you know in your life, there is a vast amount of the population where fathers are not recognized. This has been a repetitive cycle in the generations, and PROPOPS aimed to raise awareness to break this recurrence.

Mr.Wade Sr. mentioned, "When I am at the games, I only see about 3 NBA dads there out of 15 players on a team. I want to increase that and have more dads at the games." As a fan of watching NBA basketball, I notice the cameras on TV broadcast hardly show the players fathers.

Everyone that attended the conference had similar or unique factors that affected the relationship with their father including divorce, lack of open and honest communication, quality commitment to the child, starting new families, raising step children, abandoning families, imprisonment, and broken relationships between fathers and their forefathers.

I shared how my relationship and bonding with my father growing up was affected by my parents’ divorce at two years old, and how I was able to build the bond I wanted with him. Life is about moving forward with no regrets, no grudges, and doing what you need to do today in order to create a brighter tomorrow. I was able to humble myself, not hold anything against my dad, and notice the impact he has in my life.

The NBA dads are the ideal guys for executing the mission for fathers. The conversations and issues that derived from this conference inspired me to be the greatest father I can be when I enter parenthood, and it encouraged continual building with my father. It is imperative that fathers are present, active, and involved.

Nate Gray
Speaker/Author of A Winning Perspective and From Him to Us
www.haveawp.com
@HaveAWP