San Quentin News

Written By Incarcerated - Advancing Social Justice

Looking at 2020 and beyond

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All Madden Team celebrates closing prayer lead by volunteer Andre Jackson

It’s a new year, the start of a new decade, and where is San Quentin sports going?

During the month of February, there were tryouts for the San Quentin A’s, Kings and Warriors. These are some of the teams that represent the prison and, in doing so, help to build public interest in the CDCR from a recreational perspective.

The 1000 Mile Track Club is starting the marathon season as well, and in mentioning them, I’m thinking about the numerous documentaries and movies that have been filmed about sports programs at The Q.

All this indicates that in this new year, this new decade, we need to start taking involvement in sporting activities seriously as a part of the overall rehabilitation process. When a person goes before the Board of Parole Commissioners, voluntary participation in sports needs to be considered as part of a person’s inner journey to healing during their incarceration.

Not every person that suits up for sporting events at The Q will go before the Board of Parole in order to go home. Many of the young people with a determinate sentence get involved just to stay away from other activities on the yard.

However, for the person who waits two to five years to get into some of the upper echelon self-help groups, then take what they learn in those groups and put it into practice during a sporting event (which often involves participation with outside visitors) this is putting conflict resolution skills immediately into action. It’s definitely part of the rehabilitation process.

From creating season schedules, to team tryouts, to dealing with the various personalities that make up team sports, let’s not overlook the audio and visual recording, the sports broadcasting, the pre- and post-game interviews, the coordinating events to even the seating, everything that encompasses putting on an event inside the walls of San Quentin is done by the incarcerated members of SQ News Sports Department, SQ-TV and First Watch.

Why aren’t other institutions in CDCR doing this at their facilities?

What’s happening at The Q shouldn’t be an aberration; it should be the norm. Every institution should have a sports program that’s also partnered with a local college, semi-pro or even a professional team. These people should be invited inside of the facility to help aid in the rehabilitative process, to be involved in the inner healing of incarcerated individuals.

When released, we are coming back to neighborhoods and communities. We are coming back with a sense of purpose and a need to reconcile and help heal those communities. Sports is one healing path that reaches just about everyone, especially the youth.

In this new year, and at the start of this new decade, it’s time that we start looking at sports and rehabilitation in a whole new light.

—Aaron Taylor

Willie O’Ree: 1st Black NHL player

Willie Eldon O’Ree, (born Oct. 15, 1935) a former professional ice hockey player from Canada, is called the “Jackie Robinson of Ice Hockey” for having broken the color barrier in the National Hockey League, or NHL.

O’Ree, who played as a winger for the Boston Bruins, has said he met Robinson twice in his younger years. O’Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2018.

That same year, according to Wikipedia, the NHL instituted the annual Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award in his honor, to “recognize the individual who has worked to make a positive impact on his or her community, culture or society to make people better through hockey.”

During his career, O’Ree faced many of the same challenges that Robinson faced as the first man of color in a predominately White sport. Before O’Ree, Art Dorrington was the first Black player to sign an NHL contract with the New York Rangers organization, though Dorrington never played beyond the minor league level.

“Racist remarks were much worse in the U.S. cities than in Toronto and Montreal,” O’Ree attested. “Fans would yell, ‘Go back to the South’ and ‘How come you’re not picking cotton?’ Things like that. It didn’t bother me. I just wanted to be a hockey player, and if they couldn’t accept that fact, that was their problem, not mine.”

O’Ree helped make it possible for more Black players to join the league. After O’Ree’s stint in the NHL, there were no other Black players in the NHL until 1974, when the Washington Capitals drafted Mike Marson. Like O’Ree, Marson is Canadian by birth.

By the mid-2010s, there were 23 Black players in the NHL, including P. K. Subban, one of the league’s current most popular players. The NHL requires its players to enroll in a preseason diversity training seminar and punishes racially based verbal abuse with suspensions and fines.

Since 1998, O’Ree has been the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador. He travels across North America to schools and hockey programs to promote inclusion, dedication and confidence.

The NBA Championship and Stanley Cup Finals play during the same two-week period. Many sports enthusiasts inside prison watch both, exposing the incarcerated population to the NHL and helping grow its appeal.

Willie O’Ree: 1st Black NHL player

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Willie Eldon O’Ree at Hall of Fame induction

Willie Eldon O’Ree, (born Oct. 15, 1935) a former professional ice hockey player from Canada, is called the “Jackie Robinson of Ice Hockey” for having broken the color barrier in the National Hockey League, https://www.nhl.com/ or NHL.

O’Ree, who played as a winger for the Boston Bruins, has said he met Robinson twice in his younger years. O’Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame https://www.hhof.com/ in November 2018.

That same year, according to Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_O%27Ree the NHL instituted the annual Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award in his honor, to “recognize the individual who has worked to make a positive impact on his or her community, culture or society to make people better through hockey.”

During his career, O’Ree faced many of the same challenges that Robinson faced as the first man of color in a predominately White sport. Before O’Ree, Art Dorrington was the first Black player to sign an NHL contract with the New York Rangers organization, though Dorrington never played beyond the minor league level.

“Racist remarks were much worse in the U.S. cities than in Toronto and Montreal,” O’Ree attested. “Fans would yell, ‘Go back to the South’ and ‘How come you’re not picking cotton?’ Things like that. It didn’t bother me. I just wanted to be a hockey player, and if they couldn’t accept that fact, that was their problem, not mine.”

O’Ree helped make it possible for more Black players to join the league. After O’Ree’s stint in the NHL, there were no other Black players in the NHL until 1974, when the Washington Capitals drafted Mike Marson. Like O’Ree, Marson is Canadian by birth.

By the mid-2010s, there were 23 Black players in the NHL, including P. K. Subban, one of the league’s current most popular players. The NHL requires its players to enroll in a preseason diversity training seminar and punishes racially based verbal abuse with suspensions and fines.

Since 1998, O’Ree has been the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador. He travels across North America to schools and hockey programs to promote inclusion, dedication and confidence.

The NBA Championship and Stanley Cup Finals play during the same two-week period. Many sports enthusiasts inside prison watch both, exposing the incarcerated population to the NHL and helping grow its appeal.

San Quentin Kings hold tryouts for the 2020 season

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San Quentin Kings logo
San Quentin Kings logo

The 40 and Over San Quentin Kings held their annual tryouts to pick their team for the 2020 season.

After running drills and scrimmages against pick up teams made up of younger players who were watching the tryouts, head coach Orlando “Duck” Harris called the men to center court and announced this season’s roster.

Bryant Underwood, at age 35, made the cut.

“I thought because I was younger than these guys, it would be easy to make this team but it wasn’t. These OG’s got game and I see I still have something to learn from them. I’m ready for the challenge.”

Reginald Thorpe, another new player to make the team, had been reading about the Kings while housed in maximum security facilities. “I used to read the SQ News when I was at New Folsom on the level four yard, dreaming of getting to The Q and making either the Warriors or the Kings.” It was a long odyssey to reach The Q, but now Thorpe is fulfilling his aspirations. “I’m on the Kings and getting into the self-help programs. I’m healing my mind, body and spirit.”

Thorpe has earned the nickname “Saw” for his hardnosed defense and physical presence.

When asked what the goals are for the SQ Kings in 2020, Coach Harris was blunt.

“We’re looking to improve on last season’s record of 20-11. We do that, we’ll be doing great.”

Harris said that since he was going to focus most of his time in training for Transformative Justice Initiative https://tjcoalition.org/ – a group that trains people in the criminal justice reform field – he’s going to be turning over most of the coaching duties to Kings assistant coach, Ismael Freelon.

After the teams were announced, Jaryd “Deep Ball” Newton – who played in the 2019 season but didn’t make this seasons roster – spoke about press coverage.

“I only made the paper one time last season. My name was mentioned because I was tied with somebody else with 15 points. I wasn’t even the lead scorer in that game, but there was no other stats on me. It’s just not fair. I don’t understand what I have to do to get my name in the paper.”

The following is the San Quentin Kings 2020 Roster:

Thaddeus “Beast” Fleeton – 6’0 Power Forward/Center

DeSean “Silent Assassin” Nicholson – 6’1 ½ Power Forward

Jamal “Do It All” Harrison – 6’0 Guard/Forward

Gregory “G-Styles” Jones – 6’0 Shooting Guard

Tare “Cancun” Beltranchuc – 5’8 Point Guard

Oris “The Human Theme Song” Williams – 6’4 Point Forward

Bryant “The Baker” Underwood – 5’8 Guard

Gary “The Knife” Brown – 5’11 Shooting Guard/Small Forward

Rafael “Coach” Ceuvas – 6’1 Point Guard Derrick “Out Loud” Gray – 6’0 Guard/ Small Forward

Joshua “JB3” Burton – 5’7 Point Guard

Charles “Pookie” Sylvester – 5’10 Shooting Guard

Thomas “Mr.” Vaca – 6’2 Power Forward/Center

Reginald “Saw” Thorpe – 6’0 Forward

(Prison Sports Ministries, https://prisonsportsministries.org/which is the sponsor for the SQ Kings, Warriors, All Madden Flag Football, the Earthquakes soccer team and Hardtimers Softball, is a Christian based organization seeking to fellowship and spread the word of Christ, using sports as the vehicle to reach a broader audience within The Q’s incarcerated community. Only player points are kept as a statistic.)

2011 San Quentin Kings Basketball team

NFL players identify an urgent need to transform the youth justice system

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“Youth of color are more likely to be targeted in the school-to-prison pipeline…”

Criminal justice reform has becomes a key issue in the 2020 presidential race, but some National Football League players say the candidates are not addressing the urgent need to transform the youth justice system.

“Our work with young people has made it clear that youth justice reform is critical to tackling mass incarceration and advancing equity,” Carl Davis and Anquan Boldin are quoted in the Des Moines Register in December of 2019.

Davis is a defensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Boldin is a former wide receiver. As members of the player’s coalition, both men dedicate their time to working with youth and promoting both social and racial justice.

Davis and Boldin say the future of America requires someone with the vision and courage to transform the youth justice system.

Today more than 2,000,000 people are incarcerated in prison — a stark contrast to the less than 200,000 in the 1970s. According to a 2017 report by Vera Institute of Justice, the rise in the population was largely due to Criminologist John J. Dilulio’s 1995 prediction that there would be an explosion of juvenile super predators.

This prediction caused wide spread panic and caught the attention of then First Lady Hillary Clinton, ushering in a wave of intensified policing and harsher sentencing.

Over the past 20 years Dilulio’s prediction has been largely debunked as a myth. He retracted much of what he said, but a lot of damage was done. States like California locked up thousands of youth—mostly minorities.

“Youth of color are more likely to be targeted in the school-to-prison pipeline and to be punished more severely than their White peers, despite having the same rates of delinquent behavior,” Davis and Bolden wrote in the Register.

Too many youth are often sent to adult court and sentenced to prison where they face abuse, solitary confinement, and over use of restraints.

Davis and Boldin are of the opinion that presidential candidates should commit to reducing youth incarceration and closing youth prisons. They should also encourage, gubernatorial candidates, assembly persons and city councils to get involved.

Candidates should commit to removing young people from adult courts, jails and prisons which increase the likelihood they will re-offend. Federal authorities should also hold states accountable for using harmful practices like solitary confinement, say Davis and Bolden.

They say young people should be set-up for success upon re-entry. Their record should be sealed or expunged. They should be provided educational and employment opportunities, and youth voter registration should be encouraged. Young people and their families should have a seat at the table during policy decisions so they can use their personal experience to help others.

“In our work with children and youth, we have seen firsthand just how much they have to offer their families, their communities, and this nation,” Davis and Boldin are quoted. “It’s a win for all of us when we give them a real shot at success.”

Dear Kobe,

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Kobe, the Black Mamba and Gianna, the Mambacita

Dear Kobe,

You don’t know me. I’m a fan speaking for fans that asked me to send this letter to you from The Q. Here, there are Laker fans that love and miss you, alongside Warrior fans that respected you. We are going to miss what you meant to the game of basketball.

I’ve watched you since you came into the NBA in 1996. I wondered what type of player you’d become, coming straight from high school.

It didn’t take long for me to see what you were capable of doing with the ball in your hands.

I was speechless.

I saw in you Michael Jordan, who was an idol for both of us.

I saw that deadly, killer look in your eyes. I saw that same look in Jordan’s eyes when he stepped on the court. The look that makes your competitors lowers their gaze.

The look that says, “Gimme the rock and watch what I do with it.”

The look that says, “None of y’all can stop me, I’m destined for this.”

The look that says, “I dare you to try and stop me. Step up and see if you can do it.”

The look that says, “Nothing you do in this game will stop me from achieving what I am destined for: Greatness.”

The look that says, “The Champ is here!”

I heard ex-NBA player Bruce Bowen, a legend for his defensive skills, say on the radio the day you left us, “At first, I didn’t like Kobe. I thought he was arrogant, entitled. But, I came to respect him. He brought out the best defender in me and he still went a step higher.”

Pundits are trying to compare you and LeBron James. But LeBron didn’t see it that way.

LeBron said, “I’m happy to be in any conversation with Kobe Bryant, just humbled. He’s a five-time NBA champion. The man has two jerseys hanging up in the Staples Center. To pass him up on the scoring list? It’s surreal. To be compared to him? That’s huge. I play in the house that Kobe built. I’m blessed to be in that conversation.”

LeBron said that on Saturday Jan. 25, 2020. The night he passed you to become the third highest scorer in NBA history.

And we read the tweet you sent him that night, congratulating him. Telling him to keep striving for greatness.

The night before you left us all here, wondering, “God, why him and Gigi? Why Kobe and his daughter? Why the other people on that flight? Why them?”

I do play-by-play here at The Q for the annual Golden State Warriors versus SQ Warriors games. I’ve called a game with Bay Area sports guru Larry Biel and current Laker Javelle McGee.

I’ve called thousands of games over the past 26 years inside of CDCR.

I wish I had the opportunity to do play-by-play for just one of your games.

You allowed a middle-aged, out of shape, former athlete to dream bigger than myself.

That was what you brought out in me.

Kobe rising up well above the rim to slam it down

Rise in Power, Kobe Bean Bryant. We’re going to miss what you did on the court. But we’re also going to miss what you were going to do with life after basketball.

Now, you and Gianna — the Mambacita — can play ball together in the clouds. You can teach her your signature fall-away, while we watch for the next person to step up and fill your shoes.

Players like you come around only once in a generation.

You were the Black Mamba, the deadliest assassin on the court.

During your playing years, people called you arrogant.

After you stepped off the court, they called you another name: mentor.

I saw fans crying for you and Gianna; fans all over the world chanting your name:

“KOBE! KOBE! KOBE!”

You did it. You became The G.O.A.T. The Greatest Of All Time.

I just wish you didn’t have to leave us to do it.

Thank you for being you. We are all going to miss you.

Peace, my brother.

Aaron Showtime Taylor

The Voice of SQ Sports

#thankyouKobe #BlackMamba #8theGreat #deucefour #LakerGOAT #Mambacita #girldad

The Q reacts to Kobe Bryant news

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Kobe Memorial inside the Los Angeles Staples Center

The death of Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gianna – along with the other seven people on that fatal crash – has had an impact on the San Quentin community as whole.

Many within the population wanted to offer their condolences and say a few words about the man known as “The Black Mamba.”

“Kobe is the Jordan of my generation, someone I idolized growing up. After I watched him on TV, I would go outside and emulate his moves on my brothers,” said Montrell McDuffie, an All-Madden Flag Football player housed at The Q.

Kobe draft photo 1996 with Jerry West

James Metters stated, “Kobe’s death is a wakeup call that death can happen to anybody, at any time, poor or rich. That we should live everyday happy and healthy.”

Salvador Clement from Southern California offered his thoughts. “It’s a big lost for his wife. She lost two persons that she loved. What makes it worse is the media is still talking about the accident. I send my prayers to the family of those who lost their lives.”

Greg Eskridge, one of the founders of KALW 91.7 and a former SQ Warriors power forward, said “I’m a diehard Laker fan, and what Kobe did for the Lakers organization and city of Los Angeles, for the NBA – at home and internationally – as well as being the type of family man and a father? My heart is raw in its emotion for his family and children. We lost some great role models in that helicopter crash.”

Kobe vs Washington Wizards in D.C., February 3, 2007.

Trevor Byrd, a former SQ Kings, Giants and A’s player said, “I’m a post playing career Kobe fan. What he did for the league away from the game, he was huge in China. He is a global icon, on the level with Jordan, Magic and Barkley when you think of it.”

Many of the men here at The Q spoke about Kobe as a father.

Vaughn Reid offered, “I believe that his demonstration of fatherhood was very good. I recognize him to be completely involved in the development and nurture of his girls.”

Golden State Warrior fans at The Q had kind words and memories as well.

Wilson “Well Built Will” Nguyen, guard for the SQ Warriors, stated “He was one of the greatest. What’s really sad for me is that his daughter won’t get a chance to live a long life. That has got to hurt.”

“The Black Mamba is in the top 5 of the NBA’s all-time greats, he was a bad boy,” Wayne Tariq Mobley said enthusiastically. Mobley is a Bulls fan.

“Kobe’s untimely passing felt like a close and personal death that deeply moved my spiritual consciousness,” a New Orleans Pelicans fan stated.

Joshua Griffin stated “Baseball is my sport, but I definitely know the Black Mamba.” After a pause, he offered an afterthought: “Legends never die.”

Whether one was a Kobe fan, or a basketball fan, it’s clear that the impact of the man that Magic Johnson has deemed “The Greatest Laker Of All Time” has transcended his sport and was revered as a global icon.

Dennis Jefferson was reflective in his thoughts. “Kobe said in an interview that basketball is what he does, no who he is. This affected me because it made me realize that I’m bigger than the crime I committed.”

—By Contributing Writers

League MVP listens to the incarcerated

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Giannis Antetokounmpo Coaches Play For Justice participants

The Milwaukee Bucks and league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo entered a Wisconsin prison facility with a lot more at stake than just basketball. They came to listen to the voices and stories of the incarcerated.

Organized by film producer Scott Budnick and the NBA’s Play For Justice initiative, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes joined members of the Bucks organization inside the Racine Correctional Institution Dec. 17.

“The whole point is to humanize the people behind bars,” said Budnick, founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) and producer of Just Mercy. “That’s how we get the voters and legislators to change laws.

“It was great to see the governor suit up and play ball with the men in prison.”

NBA Great LeBron James shares a moment with Michael B. Jordan

Gathering first in a prisoner visiting room, everyone sat in a healing circle with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals for a heartfelt discussion on criminal justice, prison life, rehabilitation and hope.

“Just coming here, listening to them, going through what they have to say and listening to the pain they have—it’s amazing,” said Antetokounmpo in a television interview with WTMJ Milwaukee.

After sharing their personal stories, participants formed teams to play a scrimmage game coached by Antetokounmpo and his Bucks teammates Sterling Brown, Pat Connaughton, George Hill, Kyle Korver and D. J. Wilson.

The NBA players got to turn the tables and draw up plays for their own Head Coach Mike Budenholzer, who played on the all-inclusive squads along with other Bucks coaching staff.

“We care about you,” Budenholzer said to Racine’s incarcerated community. “We’re waiting for you when you get out,” reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Gov. Evers said the Play For Justice event “shines a light around issues of criminal justice reform.”

One participant, Tommy Brown, was about to be released from Racine three days later, after spending almost 30 years behind bars for an armed robbery conviction.

“It will be strange, almost like stepping out of a spaceship to a new dimension,” he said.

Another man, Donald Jackson, entered the criminal system at age 12. “Today I’m thankful,” he said to everyone around him in the circle. “I see a lot of idols here. Man, it’s overpowering.”

Milwaukee Bucks guards at the Play For Justice Event

Antetokounmpo opened up about his own misdeeds as a youth, things he admitted he was not proud of. He shared insight into his own family history and memories of his late father.

“Even when you’re still in here, you want to do better,” said Antetokounmpo.

Wesley Griffin won’t be released for several more years, but he felt moved by Antetokounmpo’s words. “We’re human beings, and everyone makes mistakes,” said Griffin.

“Sitting down in a circle like this, you stop judging. You start seeing how it is,” said NBA champion Korver, before speaking directly to one man, who revealed his own painful struggles with incarceration.

“I’m sorry, brother. I’m sorry,” Korver told him. “I don’t know what the answer is. We have to keep sharing our stories.”

Hill, another NBA champ, told the circle about his own rough childhood on the streets of Indianapolis before saying, “You’re not a monster. You’re a human. You were going down the wrong path at the wrong time.”

“I’m sorry, brother. I’m sorry,” Korver told him. “I don’t know what the answer is. We have to keep sharing our stories.”

Many of the participants talked about the aspects of outside life that their incarceration deprived them of—missed holidays with their families, graduations they couldn’t attend, children they couldn’t watch grow up.

John Casper shared how his son had asked him, “When are you coming home?”

“I don’t have an answer to that,” said Casper.

“For me it has always been important to see the good in people,” said guard Connaughton. “I believe in second chances.”

Bucks guard Brown described the problems with his arrest in January 2018 that resulted in his current lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee for excessive use of force and civil rights violations.

“A lot of work needs to be done with the criminal justice system,” said Brown. “I need to do my part.”

Play For Justice also sponsored events where the Sacramento Kings entered Folsom State Prison and where the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James welcomed youth offenders from the Ventura Correctional Facility into their practice gym.

Budnick said he has high hopes to bring WNBA organizations and Play For Justice to a women’s facility in California.

One formerly incarcerated individual, Jacob Brevard, participated in both the Folsom and Racine dialogues.

“This is a university,” he said. “You can learn a lot here.”

Budnick launched Play For Justice in partnership with the Represent Justice Campaign and the film Just Mercy. The movie stars Jamie Foxx in the true story of a wrongfully convicted innocent man on Alabama’s Death Row.

Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson co-star as Bryan Stevenson and Eva Ainsley, the legal team that worked to free Just Mercy’s real-life protagonist, Walter McMillian.

“It’s going great right now,” said Budnick in late January when Just Mercy was in its third week of national release. “It’s all about showing folks the injustice in the criminal justice system.

“Governors, district attorneys—we’re making sure all kinds of prosecutors and stakeholders see this film.”

In-Depth: Thaddeus Fleeton

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G.S. Warrior Coach Kerr, C Festus Azele, Fleeton, GM Bob Meyers and Kings guard Tare Beltranchuc, 2014 Warriors v. Warriors.

Thaddeus Fleeton is nicknamed “The Beast” because of his offensive low-post game and his intense physicality defensively.

He is, arguably, one of the best undersized big men that I’ve seen in my 25 years inside CDCR.

He was born in Mobile, Ala., and came to San Francisco in 1965 at the age of two.

Fleeton shooting over 6’4 Hoov

Thad had to work his way down from higher security levels to reach the Q, while others have come straight to San Quentin without spending time at the higher security designations, where violence is a way of life, Thad has spent time on some of the most violent and racially volatile facilities in the state, but as you’re about to discover, that didn’t change who he is at his core.

AT: You – like many of us – came into the system when learning self-discipline was a matter of life and death; how did you transfer those lessons over to basketball?

TF: Well, first it was know- ing my surroundings, who I’m playing against. Keeping in mind that at any moment, a foul could easily turn into an assault..

AT: Did you play ball on the higher levels as well?

TF: Yeah, at New & Old Folsom, Calaptaria Corcoran, Salinas Valley and Kern Valley. All Level IV’s.

AT: I heard that you are a boxer; talk about the sweet science and how you got in- volved.

6’0 Fleeton v. 6’5 Jason Robinson

TF: When I was seven, I had made a clay ashtray for my father at school. On the way home, A 15-year-old dude took my ashtray. I tried to fight him, but he was too big. I went home to my pops and my uncle — who had just returned from Vietnam — and asked them to teach me how to fight bigger guys. The next year, a 12-year-old boy slapped my sister and I beat the crap out of him. My dad then walked me over to the

Boys Club and introduced me to Sonny Carter and Johnny Keys –two ex-pro fighters. I fell in love with the road work and structure; however, I struggled with the discipline. They stayed in my ear and eventually I went to the Junior Golden Gloves in 1979.

AT: What happened after that? Seems like you were moving in the right direction at this point.

TF: I was, but at the same time I was gaining a rep as a street fighter. So the struggle became do I want to fight in the ring or the street? I saw the boxing circuit, the fight- ers with the clothes, money, cars and all that, and I wanted it. But, it was taking too long so I wanted a shortcut, which took me to street fighting.

AT: Wait, let’s go back to your sister; tell me about what your parents told you and how that took you to be- ing a street fighter.

TF: My parents told me to protect the females. Yet, I took it a step further: I protected them, the nerds and even the boys that couldn’t fight. That eventually led me to getting paid to beat people up, protecting my neighborhood. I didn’t ask for money though. I was getting paid with food, which built up trust in the neighborhood for me. When I did do wrong, the neighborhood would protect me from law enforcement. Also, I had went to the local stores and told them, “What if I can stop people from stealing outta your store? You don’t have to pay me nothing, just hide me from the police if I need it.” And they did it. Now that I reflect back, this is how I how I developed my criminal think- ing and behavior.

AT: I think everyone can appreciate how honest you are. Okay, you’ve been with the SQ Kings, barring inju- ries, since your arrival. How has playing against outside competition helped you de- velop holistically?

TF: It helps me realize that I have a worth beyond the crime that brought me here.

That I am somebody. That they see me now, as the man I’ve become, not who I was.

AT: Is it safe to say that you have formed some solid associations and friendships with the guys that come inside to compete?

TF: Most definitely.

AT: During this past 2019 season, you suspended yourself for a couple of games. I don’t want to talk about the situation that caused it but more to why you felt that you needed to sit yourself down rather than waiting for the coaching staff to do it?

TF: I place myself in a position as a leader, so that means my responsibilities are more than others. My peers see me a certain way, so I had to hold myself account- able. If I don’t, then I’m like everyone else that wants a title but not the responsibility that goes with the title. And, to be honest? It felt good to stand up and say to everyone “I was wrong, so I’m going to sit myself down and hold myself accountable.”

AT: You’re definitely on point about people with titles who don’t want the responsibilities of the title.

TF: That’s right.

AT: All right, I’m going to mention a name and you say the first word that comes to mind.

TF: All right.

Ryan ‘The Rifleman’ Steer: Good person, damn good ball player. Cynthia Cooper: Angel. Will ‘2-Piece’ Wheatly: Close friend. Draymond Green: Beast! LeBron James: Versatile. Joe Montana: Legendary. Old Man Basketball: festive. Lisa Leslie: Beautiful. Steph Curry: Awesome. Bill Epling: Special. Bob Myers: Great!

AT: Okay, it’s Black History Month, so let’s do something a little different. Who are your top three iconic figures in Black History?

TF: Muhammad Ali, he spoke up at a time when we all couldn’t. President Barack Obama, he walked the walk and talked the talk. He showed America and the world that Black people aren’t just athletes and entertainers, that we are also academic and esoteric when it comes to worldwide leadership. Harriet Tubman, ‘Mama Moses’, she was brave and smart. She put a plan together and went forward, in spite of the times.

AT: Tell the people – in- side and out – who Thad is:

TF: I’m a family man. I’m glad that I listened to people throughout the years of this journey in here; you can find diamonds in a pile of s—t. But it helped to carve and shape me into the positive person that I am today.

AT: Thank you for taking some time to talk with me, and Happy Black History Month. You get the last statement.

TF: Thank you to every- one for taking time with me–inside and out–andI wish for peace on earth, believe that.

An unusual family visit at San Quentin

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On the first day of 2020, Marion Wickerd –wife of 1000 Mile Club member Tommy Wickerd—shared a special moment with her husband of 15 years: The Wickerds were spending a family visit together at The Q.

However, instead of watching the New Year’s Day Rose Parade on television, the two were going to watch to the 4th Annual San Quentin New Year’s “Buddy Bar” Half Marathon.

“I’ve never awakened on a New Year’s Day in prison,” Marion said. “It’s definitely 100% my choice to be here, and, I must say, I’m one happy gal to be here at good ole San Quentin at the start of a new decade.”

Marion said she was just as excited as she would’ve been watching the iconic Boston Marathon.

Tommy put on his SQ 1000 Mile Club hat, while his wife put on her 26.2 to Life hoodie, and they stood in the family visiting area and looked through three sets of fencing to watch the runners line up to start the run. Marion held on to her husband’s arm tightly, watching and waiting as an alarm delayed the start time. After the alarm, the half marathon began, and Tommy did a running commentary for his wife.

“I recognized Rahsaan ‘New York’ Thomas and Jonathan Chiu from the documentary ’26.2 to Life’ sizzle reel. There were other runners that my husband pointed out to me, explaining their running techniques and strategies. I felt like I knew them all,” she said.

The Wickerds, standing in the small outdoor yard set aside for family visits, cheered the runners on, encouraging them together.

“Tommy was trying to show me where the ‘Field of Dream’ scoreboard was, so I could orientate myself to where they hang their banner during their running events,” she said. “Honestly, I was so thrilled to be sharing something with Tommy that he loves. His heart be- longs to me, but I also know that there was a part of him that wanted to be running with his ‘Band of Brothers’ that day. I was so lucky to be a part of and actually participate in something that makes my husband a part of who he is. I just want to thank everyone that took part in the run that day.”

The Wickerd’s both said that the day was one that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Thank you to Tommy and Marion Wickerd for sharing part of their family visit with San Quentin News sports department. Marion Wickerd contributed to this story.

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