Aaron “Imam Jeddi” Taylor, Head Coach of the San Quentin Warlocks’ flag football team, discusses his sports background and how he developed a positive environment for incarcerated men to excel through the creation of different sports leagues.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, he was introduced to sports by his uncle, Stephen Wade Sr. Wade worked at the “All People’s Community Center” on 22nd and Central.
“My brother, my cousins, and I all played on his baseball team called the Astros, at Gilbert Lindsay Park, which is across the street from the old Dodger Club. I played football for the Crenshaw High Cougars, and I was backup receiver and backup defensive back,” he said.
What stopped you from pursuing a sports career after high school?
The clash came in because I had the pull of the homies on one side and Coach Garrett on the other. He was trying to give me positive stuff. Everything he did was on a positive tip. But, the streets won.
What coaches influenced you the most?
Joe Weekly and even the basketball coach Willie West. We have numerous championships at Crenshaw High School in basketball and baseball.
Did you coach any teams?
I was a football coach at Baldwin Hills Cougars for the Pee-Wee teams. For two years, I coached there. We were .500 one season and .450 the next. I was the quarterback and receivers coach. At Centinela State Prison I was the head coach of the softball team called the African Stars. We won the title in 2008. At that same time I created two leagues, the Convicts All-Star Softball League (CSL) and about a month later Convicts All-Star Basketball League. At Centinela at that time, they had emergency bunk sleepers in the building. That was 20 double bunks for 40 inmates, in four buildings. Then the gym had 120 inmates in it. At that same time Centinela closed all of their vocational classes in 2007. So, what you had is approximately 1,300 inmates walking around with nothing to do. The Sports Leagues gave them an outlet for all of that idle time.
What was your primary goal for starting different leagues?
The primary goal for starting the leagues was so that my Christian brothers could go to church on Monday and my Muslim brothers could go to Jum’ah on Fridays. The leagues gave B Facility 36 months of little to no incidents through the sports leagues, and it earned me a Captain’s Chrono.
What kind of life skills can someone develop through playing sports?
Sports are the ultimate conflict resolution. You are at war with yourself and in a sense you’re at war with your opponent. Sports give you a guideline on how to conduct yourself while seeking to achieve the highest goal of winning. A true sportsman loses with honor and wins with humility.
Who do you credit for putting you on the right path?
It’s hard to pick one. The most profound statement that would be the culmination of all the advice I was given from Mao Tse Tsung: “In shallow minds the fish of small thought causes a great commotion. But in oceanic magnanimous minds the whales of inspiration cause hardly a ripple.”
Journalism Guild Chairman JulianGlenn Padgett contributed to this story.
