Ladies and gentlemen, a tip of the cap to Malcolm Mitchell.
“We are all here today for you to become the best readers you can be,” Mitchell told them. “Just like the characters in the book, if there’s something you enjoy, there’s a book out there that will help you find it.”
Mitchell wasn’t always an author…as you already know…but he also wasn’t the best reader, either. Coming from a challenging childhood in Valdosta and growing up in a Habitat for Humanity home, Mitchell arrived at Georgia and realized quickly that college was going to be a touch harder for him.
In a freshman English class, when it appeared the instructor was going to go around the room, asking students to read passages out loud from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the hotshot football star sat petrified.
“I was scared,” he recalled. “That moment was embarrassing, and I felt inferior because here I was, someone who everyone wanted to take a picture with or get an autograph from, and I was scared to read four sentences aloud in class.”
How did he make it through that situation?
“Well, another student volunteered to read the whole short story, so I didn’t have read at all,” Mitchell said. “I was very relieved. I probably went back to not paying attention, but that stuck with me.”
A series of events made even deeper impressions. He noticed he couldn’t keep up with captions scrolling across the television screen, and he struggled to recognize the difference, word-wise, between cans of applesauce and apple slices in the grocery store. He read an interview with Curtis Jackson (better known as the hip-hop icon 50 Cent), who spoke of how knowledge through reading empowered him to make savvy business decisions, leading to financial prosperity.
Then there was his freshman theater class at Georgia where his classmates included a former football player, who had returned to school after signing a big professional contract. Mitchell wondered, “If money represents all you need, why is he sitting in class trying to get this degree? I never talked to him about it, but I just concluded there must be something about the value of this degree that I do not understand. That all started to chisel away at the way I was thinking previously.”
Motivated, he set out to work as hard on his reading as his football. He became a voracious reader. A knee injury sidelined him during his junior season, but the time away from the field provided more time for his books. At a Barnes & Noble in Athens, he struck up a conversation with a woman who invited him to join her book club. (She had no idea he played football.) He became the youngest member of the group, by quite a few years, and the only man. It broadened his circle of friends and his reading selections, and he became the subject of a CBS News “On the Road” feature in 2014.
Good show, Malcolm. And a Damn Good Dawg. I’ve personally read his stories in classrooms in our school district, something that would make my media specialist (old school term was librarian) mother happy. They’re great kids books and if you have a young one I’d highly recommend.
Here’s your reminder that this might the last weekend for a while where you can tackle your favorite book!
Rings gather dust…
This is what college sports are really about. High school sports as well for that matter.
Each and every minor deviation from it is unfortunate and disappointing.
If you want to make your livelihood in entertainment go find a microphone or a stripper pole.
This is available to every student-athlete. That athlete needs to realize that and take it. Mitchell likely would not have been admitted to UGA on his academics alone. He took advantage of his athletic talent to get more from his university experience.
I have no problem with true NIL. I also expect that college athletes should be students (in the classroom). I also don’t think the athletic apparatus should discourage a student-athlete from studying a challenging academic field.
Nothing could have saved any stripper. Nothing at all.
Every man is an island to themselves acting independently of any and all outside stimuli whatsoever.
I hope Kirby is saying to players:
You could spend your time tonight studying for your Algebra test in the morning OR you could go and hawk some chicken fingers for lots of cash! Your choice dude. Either way. Its what you’re here for.
Moreover, I know that when the university was opened in 1785 that it intended to be either:
An educational institute OR a place to make profit off of entertainment. I’m sure its in the charter that choices of equal value would be made by students, administrators and professors alike as determined by free actors in a marketplace.
Couldn’t we just let the players choose to not be enrolled in school at all?
Why the charade?
Cause everyone gets off on it (when it works)???
Malcolm Mitchell needs to speak to every incoming freshman class … not just to the football players. He came to UGA as a stepping stone to the millions promised in the NFL. Classes were secondary. He left as a man ready to be successful in life no matter what was thrown at him.
The lady he met in that B&N should be proud of what she and her friends inspired and the legacy they helped create.
Damn. Good. Dawg.
Mr. Malcolm Jarod Mitchells physical injuries helped shape his focus in elevating others, to overcoming their shortcomings in dealing with everyday occurrences…listening, understanding, speaking, very important tools in society…Damn Good Human!!
I met the woman, Kathy Rackley, who brought MM into the book club, and she gave me a copy of his 1st book. At the start of the book, the main character goes into Mrs. Rackley’s book store.
His books are great for little kids, I read them to mine as well. Yet, for the life of me, I will never understand how he snapped his ACL landing after a celebration hop. Always thought he should write a book called “Fragile Flower.” 😉
How it’s done.
I’m all for good stories and all but wtf, Poe in college? That’s 8th grade bullshit.
Why does it take 5 minutes for a post to show up on this site? WordPress or screening? Senator’s site was always instantly.
Hey JC the comments aren’t working right email araith @ bell south dot net I’ve dealt with WP
JP sorry. Got to get this site working
Senator told me he had the cheapest account paid for itself. (+😂) Seems to be a WordPress issue ((avatars aren’t showing up) (most comments anonymous) could be Clemson y’all reach out if you want