Maurice Hurst Jr. mlive piece

Submitted by APMGoBlue on

There is a great piece over on mlive from Brendan F. Quinn about Maurice Hurst Jr.  It is a long read, but worth it.

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2015/09/a_mothers_son_michiga…

"People would hear about my dad and make all kinds of assumptions," Maurice says now, "like that we were rich or had this great life or something. In reality, I didn't know him."

"I'm my own man," he says. "That's how my mother raised me."

 

 

 

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NFG

September 25th, 2015 at 8:53 AM ^

Having two kids myself, I just don't see how anyone could live their life, choosing not to take part in the raising of their own kid(s). Good for Mo to rebound, and his mother seems like an exceptional role model. I hope only good things come their way.

Joined: 04/24/2012

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Rabbit21

September 25th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^

Personally, I can't imagine it, but I do know a few guys who had kids way too young, signed them off to their mothers and then moved on to new families and are great dads to the kids from the new relationships.  It comes down to a few things I think, embarassment at basically abdicating responsibility, a desire to "move forward", avoid painful memories and in some cases an expectation, either real or imagined, that their wives will be threatened by establishing a relationship with their kid.  A couple of the guys I know were even told by the mothers that their presence in the kids lives would be unwelcome and there's always contentious relationships with stepfathers to account for as well.

Crappy situations abound all over with this kind of thing and there's no single explanation.  FWIW in my anecdotal experience, all of them are bothered by it, but are not entirely sure how to go about resolving it.  

All that said, the guys I know all paid their child support in full and took pride in that.  There's a lot of fail in the story of Maurice's relationship with his father, but that's the one aspect I don't have any sympathy for.

Joined: 11/12/2009

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Rabbit21

September 25th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^

Trying to excuse it wasn't my goal, even when I found myself nodding my head to these guys' explanations I could never quite get past the thought of, "You should try harder, start now".

I just wanted to provide some, admittedly anecdotal, evidence as to the hows and whys of things like that happen, other than "He must be an evil douchebag, burn him!".  I grew up in a small town(where you know everyone and know everyone's business when it's at this level of scandal) and spent a few years in the military(Where you have to find something to talk about when waiting for the plane to get fixed) and so it was relatively easy to run across these types of situations.  

All that said, in this particular case, the details of Hurst's father apparently not even trying to establish a relationship with his son, when his son was reaching out, are heartbreaking and damning.  

Joined: 11/12/2009

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straight-gangs…

September 25th, 2015 at 8:49 AM ^

It is shocking how often you hear about these stories. I couldn't imagine, despite distance, relationship with the mother, or whatever the scenario; not being willing to maintain a relationship with my kids. Definitely one if the driving factors impacting communities and causing children to struggle as they grow up. Great to see such wonderful mother doing the right thing, while dad is failing in his role. Thus story surely has me rooting for Hurst Jr moving forward.

Joined: 06/03/2011

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LSAClassOf2000

September 25th, 2015 at 8:54 AM ^

With a dose of contemplation, he adds, "If he ever wanted to reach out to me, he could. If he tried to make an effort to talk to me, I would definitely talk to him."

As someone upthread mentioned, as a father, I don't get the attitude of the elder Hurst at all, and I can't imagine how difficult that must be for Maurice Hurst, Jr. to have grown up with that name in the Boston area under those circumstances. Worse, I can't imagine how that must have felt, that trip to New Orleans, finding no acknowledgement of the relationship in his father's house. Many kudos to Mo and his mom for wading through it all and - by all accounts - coming through it strong. Hopefully, nothing but great things come their way. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

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Mabel Pines

September 25th, 2015 at 9:06 AM ^

my age.  Cannot imagine raising kids on my own with absolutely no acknowledgement from the biological father (he's not an actual father) and struggling with money.  Nicole is awesome!! 

Joined: 10/02/2010

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rockediny

September 25th, 2015 at 9:14 AM ^

Jesus man, you can't even send a complete email? Couldn't pay an appropriate amount of child support while playing in the NFL? I don't know the whole story, but doesn't that seem like going out of your way to be an asshole?

Joined: 08/14/2010

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Wolverine 73

September 25th, 2015 at 9:16 AM ^

How can anyone not pull for the guy to be a huge success on the football field after reading this?  I have little doubt that someone who has overcome what he has, and who has a mother like his, will surely be a success in life.  Impressive.

Joined: 08/03/2009

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DrewGOBLUE

September 25th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^

The NCAA really should establish a system to assist families with the financial burden of traveling to games. Simply handing out cash would probably get dicey; maybe allocating a handful of flyer miles/hotel points could work.

Joined: 12/03/2011

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Evil Empire

September 25th, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^

So I have a last name and some genes from my paternal grandfather but nothing else.  I know that he died a few years ago, and that he had another family.

That was a big hole in his life but he (my dad) earned two degrees from UM, married his college sweetheart, and has been a great father to me.   I know he feels bad for kids growing up without a father, such as my cousin's two sons.  He managed to do better and I am grateful.  I hope Maurice Jr is able to do he same.

Joined: 07/29/2008

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alum96

September 25th, 2015 at 10:12 AM ^

Brendan Quinn will not be at mlive long.  This is the same guy who did the extremely in depth story on Beilein last year.  His research and digging (i.e. homework done above and beyond showing up at pressers) and finding angles most people don't bother with in today's sports "journalism" is from a bygone era.   I am glad he gets some supporting role in writing on Michigan football.  If a more prominent establishment has not grabbed him by this time next year I'll be shocked.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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beedub93

September 25th, 2015 at 10:16 AM ^

Sounds a bit like Jalen's relationship with Jimmy Walker, absentee pro athlete father.

Junior won't do this, but if he makes it to the league and has a solid career, I'd hope he's shun his SOB biological father.

Kid is lucky to have such a strong woman in his life. She's amazing.



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Joined: 11/18/2008

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UMAmaizinBlue

September 25th, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^

And I'm sure there are stories like this across the country. Amazing how stories like this aren't brought up more often in a world where we look so often to the things that are wrong. Sure, it's not a perfect tale, but nobody's is, and if any of us ever meets Ms. Page I think she deserves a glass of whole milk or two - that's one strong woman.

Joined: 09/23/2009

MGoPoints: 36271

Sideline

September 25th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^

I never knew any of this. Makes you step back from the game itself and think about the life of our University athletes. It's too bad that the NCAA couldn't find a way to get parents to games without it being a violation somehow... Just some way to provide airline tickets and game tickets and possibly a hotel voucher...

Joined: 12/09/2009

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StephenRKass

September 25th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^

Thanks for sharing the link. Glad to read this. It is a reminder that players come from all kinds of different situations and walks of life. Mr. Hurst's mother sounds like a great woman. My hat is off to her and all single moms who pursuedly fight for their children.

Joined: 07/15/2008

MGoPoints: 22987

ilah17

September 25th, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^

What a fantastic article. Maurice and his mom are lucky to have each other. And this just reminds me how much I wish schools and/or fans could help pay for players' parents to travel to games. 

Joined: 12/15/2011

MGoPoints: 4185

Victor Valiant

September 25th, 2015 at 8:07 PM ^

Awesome story of resilience and perseverance by Maurice Jr. and his mom. I was rooting for him before, for no other reason than he's a Michigan Wolverine (and he randomly started following me on Twitter even tho I was not following him or any other players).

There is absolutely no excuse for what Maurice Sr did in this case, but at the same time I'd expect that there are a few relevant wrinkles to the story that we don't know.

All in all, fathers abandoning children and the breakdown of the focus on family and familial responsibilities within communities and cultures, especially the black community as is the case here, needs to change. Normally wouldn't bring '"politics" onto the board, but I don't believe this should be considered a political issue. It's an issue of values and culture.

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