Alabama Star QB Tua Reveals Dad Used the Belt on Him After Poor Performances
On ESPN’s “College Gameday” Saturday, a profile of Heisman Trophy favorite and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa turned into a lightning rod of controversy for debates over parenting in America today.
Specifically, the debate over whether corporal punishment is acceptable when used by parents came to the fore.
The “Gameday” report started out as your standard human-interest piece. Grand vistas of the beaches of Tagovailoa’s native Hawaii that looked like they’d been approved by the tourism authority set the stage.
Interspersed with those grand vistas were images of Tagovailoa and his family, their culture as Pacific Islanders celebrated, as most Pacific Islander NFL standouts — guys like Troy Polamalu and Al Afalava — play on the defensive side of the ball.
Tagovailoa’s father, Galu, took an interest in his son’s athletic development very early in life, as Tua’s first lesson was to learn to throw the ball left-handed.
“I’m right-dominant. I write with my right, I eat with my right. My dad switched me to throw with my left hand,” Tua said.
Galu explained the decision in simple, logical terms.
“Because I’m the only lefty in the family, I felt like ‘OK, I’m going to make my son a lefty.’”
Tua grew up in a very demanding family, and strict discipline was imposed in order to keep the kids on the straight and narrow, and that’s where the controversy kicked in.
Tagovailoa said in an interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi, “It had to do with a lot of pressure. If I don’t perform well, perform the way I’m supposed to, I’m gonna get it after.”
Asked by Rinaldi to elaborate, Tagovailoa’s next words lit the fuse.
“Just know that the belt was involved and other things were involved as well,” he said.
Tagovailoa’s mother Diane referred to her family’s values as “the Bible and the belt,” and Galu chuckled at the simplification of that environment.
Galu had the last word on where his son would go to college. When the young quarterback picked Alabama, the entire family picked up to move with him.
Even Nick Saban was impressed by the show of solidarity, saying that Tagovailoa had “an uncommon respect” for his father.
And while the response on social media was overwhelmingly negative. ESPN’s seeming endorsement of old-school, spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child parenting was pilloried, as that style of parenting has clearly fallen out of favor.
But in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, corporal punishment is legal, even as more than 50 countries around the world have outlawed the practice in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.
Tagovailoa is the heavy favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and he has a chance to quarterback a national championship game for his school for the second consecutive year if Alabama can get past the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.
The more he’s in the spotlight, however, the more you can expect the debate over his upbringing to continue.
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