The toughest guys on the planet become mush at the mere smile of their little girls.
“I can just think about her and my heart melts,” said football great Jerome Bettis of his five-year-old daughter Jada in the book “NFL Dads Dedicated to Daughters: Inspiring Personal Accounts on Fatherhood.”
With Jada alongside, Bettis will sign copies of the book at noon on Saturday at Barnes and Noble Buckhead.
The book was inspired by Tony Porter, co-founder of A Call to Men, after talking to NFL players. The New York-based organization works to end violence against women and redefine ideas of manhood. During a session with NFL players, Porter discovered that talking about daughters was a quick way to get players to open up.
“Usually 60 percent of them have a daughter,” he said. "We asked what’s the [ideal] world they envision for their daughter and how would [they] want men to act and behave with them.”
A book was soon born. NFL professionals ranging from Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez and Cleveland Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme to former coach Tony Dungy reveal how their daughters tug at the heartstrings.
Porter believes professional athletes have the power to start a movement.
“They have a lot to do with how we define manhood," Porter said. "If Jerome Bettis says it’s cool, then it’s cool. If Tony Porter [an unknown] says it’s cool, well, I don’t know about that."
Three local fathers recently discussed their bond with their daughters.
- Rick Terry, 53, is a carpenter who lives in Fairburn. His daughter Amber is 24.
“We have this thing. Since she was born I call her my little monkey," he said. "And every year for Christmas I have something with a monkey motif under the Christmas tree for her. ... I told her to never forfeit her character, to never feel like she was second best. You want a balanced relationship where you can live and grow and respect each other mutually."
- Gregory Maxwell, 50, owns a piping and grading company in Conyers. In 2005, his youngest daughter Tiffany died in a car accident. She was 21. By Father's Day, Maxwell will have completely restored the 1965 pearl white Ford Mustang that he gave to Tiffany on her 15th birthday. He recently had Tiffany's image painted on the hood.
“I miss her voice saying, ‘I love you Daddy,"' he said. "She loved that Mustang and she grew up before I could get it fixed up. The sun is hitting my skin when I’m working on the car, tingling me, and I know that is her giving me hugs."
- Jim May, 48, a real estate attorney living in Lilburn, has two daughters: Jessica, 19, and Kristen, who turns 18 on Father's Day, and a 15-year-old son Jimmy.
“There’s definitely a difference between raising boys and girls," he said. "My daughters were really daddy’s little girls. It was almost like the girls wanted to please daddy, particularly, when they were little. I could give them a look and that might be enough [for them to behave.] When I’d come home, they’d come running."
INFO BOX
Former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis signs copies of "NFL Dads Dedicated to Daughters: Inspiring Personal Accounts on Fatherhood" Saturday at noon at Barnes and Noble Buckhead, 2900 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. 404-261-7747, www.barnesandnoble.com .
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