I have written the following email to Kelly and Dekota urging more color stories on TU student athletes during this downtime in sports. I you agree, please add your voices to the request.
Hi Kelly and Dekota,
With the lack of sports coverage because of COVID-19, I would enjoy some color stories about our TU athletes. A big part of sports is getting to know the players and watching them develop. I feel that there is a big disconnect between the city of Tulsa and our student athletes that you can help to cure.
For example, we have had two BB players, Ugboh and Igbanu, from Lagos, Nigeria, which seems to be a pipeline of BB talent.
When did they first learn about Basketball? Did they move to Lagos because it had schools that emphasized BB? When and how did they decide to come to the U.S.? Was it hard to get a visa? Did they speak English before coming to the U.S.? Did they have difficulty adapting to life here? What was the most difficult? What do they like/dislike about their time at TU? Do they plan to stay in the U.S. after graduation?
Football Offensive lineman Chester Baah’s single mother left him and two older brothers with her sister to come to the U.S. to study nursing. She worked two jobs to support her boys in Ghana, eventually bringing them to the U.S. Chester was the last to come here at age 13 where he was entered into a TPS middle school. How did they determine what grade to put him in? Did he speak English? How would he compare TPS schools to those in Ghana? How, when and why was he introduced to American football? What colleges recruited him and why did he choose TU? What are his plans upon graduation, etc. (Chester, his two brothers, and his mother Matilda, are all now U.S. citizens)?
I know there are also foreign students on the TU Track and Field, Tennis, and women’s golf teams also with interesting stories to tell.
But you should not be limited only to foreign students. Many come from small towns, large towns, and many have followed tortuous routes to get to TU (think of Brennan—the “Milkman”—Marion, for example).
This is a wonderful opportunity to delve into the human side of the wonderful athletes who represent our city.
Please step up to the plate and hit a home run—for Tulsa.
Hi Kelly and Dekota,
With the lack of sports coverage because of COVID-19, I would enjoy some color stories about our TU athletes. A big part of sports is getting to know the players and watching them develop. I feel that there is a big disconnect between the city of Tulsa and our student athletes that you can help to cure.
For example, we have had two BB players, Ugboh and Igbanu, from Lagos, Nigeria, which seems to be a pipeline of BB talent.
When did they first learn about Basketball? Did they move to Lagos because it had schools that emphasized BB? When and how did they decide to come to the U.S.? Was it hard to get a visa? Did they speak English before coming to the U.S.? Did they have difficulty adapting to life here? What was the most difficult? What do they like/dislike about their time at TU? Do they plan to stay in the U.S. after graduation?
Football Offensive lineman Chester Baah’s single mother left him and two older brothers with her sister to come to the U.S. to study nursing. She worked two jobs to support her boys in Ghana, eventually bringing them to the U.S. Chester was the last to come here at age 13 where he was entered into a TPS middle school. How did they determine what grade to put him in? Did he speak English? How would he compare TPS schools to those in Ghana? How, when and why was he introduced to American football? What colleges recruited him and why did he choose TU? What are his plans upon graduation, etc. (Chester, his two brothers, and his mother Matilda, are all now U.S. citizens)?
I know there are also foreign students on the TU Track and Field, Tennis, and women’s golf teams also with interesting stories to tell.
But you should not be limited only to foreign students. Many come from small towns, large towns, and many have followed tortuous routes to get to TU (think of Brennan—the “Milkman”—Marion, for example).
This is a wonderful opportunity to delve into the human side of the wonderful athletes who represent our city.
Please step up to the plate and hit a home run—for Tulsa.
