# When are pro athletes going to learn to not let their family speak for them? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 7, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-pro-athletes-going-to-learn-to-not-let-their-family-speak-for-them/709225 "2015-01-07T15:18:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-pro-athletes-going-to-learn-to-not-let-their-family-speak-for-them/709225/1 "2015-01-07T15:18:45Z")
Apparently Jamis Winston is going to enter the draft, or [so his dad says](http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2015/story/_/id/12131473/jameis-winston-florida-state-seminoles-nfl-draft-father-says). :rolleyes: Why is his dad even speaking to anybody about what his son will do? Let Jamis speak for himself. Jesus. This is a great way to enter your professional career. Letting your dad speak for you. When will these guys learn that this NEVER turns out well. EVER. Family members running their mouths have burned so many pro athletes over the years. It seems it’s predominantly black athletes, though I’m not 100% sure why. It seems that very few white or Hispanic athletes experience this. This can only go badly. Eventually dad will get comfortable talking to the media and start making all kinds of claims, assessments, statements about Jamis or “on his behalf”. This is doubly dangerous because of the baggage JW will be bringing with him. He’s going to be under ALOT of scrutiny ala Manziel because of his shady past, and I’m predicting there’ll be alot of public denials by his dad and him weighing in on shit. Good grief. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-pro-athletes-going-to-learn-to-not-let-their-family-speak-for-them/709225/2 "2015-01-07T17:01:07Z")
Cubsfan: I think people in general have a great deal of difficulty in controlling what their adult family members say. Hopefully you can give some advice? Tell us how you do it. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-pro-athletes-going-to-learn-to-not-let-their-family-speak-for-them/709225/3 "2015-01-08T13:58:54Z")
This the point where if socks weren’t a bannable offense, we’d start seeing posts from “Cubsfan’s Dad”, “Cubsfan’s Grandmother”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-pro-athletes-going-to-learn-to-not-let-their-family-speak-for-them/709225/4 "2015-01-08T16:43:38Z")
Perhaps the fact that daddy is still calling the shots should be a warning to NFL teams that he lacks the maturity to command a team of men on the field. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-pro-athletes-going-to-learn-to-not-let-their-family-speak-for-them/709225/5 "2015-01-08T17:53:52Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > This the point where if socks weren’t a bannable offense, we’d start seeing posts from “Cubsfan’s Dad”, “Cubsfan’s Grandmother”, etc. The seemy downside of the ban on socks. Won’t someone think of the [del]children[/del] jokes! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-pro-athletes-going-to-learn-to-not-let-their-family-speak-for-them/709225/6 "2015-01-08T18:08:05Z")
> [@justmeetee](#): > > Perhaps the fact that daddy is still calling the shots should be a warning to NFL teams that he lacks the maturity to command a team of men on the field. Not necessarily. Larry Fitzgerald’s father still runs his mouth and Fitz has been a true professional. Winston’s father is probably loving the attention as well as eager to cash in on his son’s NFL contract