Normalize celebrating a corny dad who supports women and plays the right way

According to the interwebs, Jayson Tatum is the corniest player in the NBA. He can’t be the face of the league because he doesn’t have the “aura” that other great players have. He doesn’t have that “it” factor that makes kids spam the All-Star ballot for. He’s mid. He doesn’t have rizz. He lacks main character energy. He’s just not that guy.

Allow me to a moment to stand on a hill and say this with my full chest.

GOOD!!!

So much has been made about what he isn’t. Let’s take a moment and appreciate the man he is. Let’s start with a short list of accomplishments, all achieved before turning 27 earlier this week.

NBA champion
2-time Olympic gold medalist
6-time All Star (MVP once)
4 All-NBA selections
9th most points as a Celtic (and climbing)

There are more accomplishments and on-court accolades, but I want to skip to what I consider to be far more important factors.

Jayson Tatum is a dedicated father. He’s been vocal about supporting single mothers (a cause dear to his heart because of his own mother’s journey). He started the Jayson Tatum Foundation to support families. He is reportedly part of a bid aiming to bring a WNBA team to his hometown of St. Louis. He’s never been involved in any off-court controversy of any kind.

By all accounts, he seems like a genuinely good guy. I don’t know him personally, but from afar, he has my admiration and respect for all the right reasons. I’m sure he’s not a perfect person, because nobody is. This is not an attempt to deify the man. I’m sure he’s made his share of mistakes in the past, but he seems to have learned from them (see Brad Stevens: growth mentality). There’s a reason why sponsors (from Jordan brand to SoFi to Ruffles) love having him as their spokesman.

Back on the court, he’s a tireless worker that is continually learning the game, adding to his skillset, and soaking up the knowledge from coaches and teachers of the game. He has a respect and admiration for its history. He puts team accomplishments ahead of individual achievements. He sacrifices stats for wins. He makes an effort to play as many games as possible. He almost always makes the right basketball play. In short, he’s a coach’s dream.

For all of that, maybe there’s a kernel of truth to the “criticisms” he’s gotten. He’s not flashy, so some consider him to be boring. He’s not controversial or edgy, so he’s often overlooked in the league discourse. He has an all-around game that includes harder to appreciate aspects (example: the versatility to guard both Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson in the same game). These seem like the same kinds of criticisms that followed the great Tim Duncan for his whole career. Of course, Tatum has quite a way to go before he can claim that kind of resume, but I’m not ruling it out either.

Let’s not get it twisted. He’s gotten a lot of ill-conceived criticisms as well. He couldn’t mesh well with Jaylen Brown, …until he did. He couldn’t pass, …until he did. He wasn’t clutch, …until he was. He couldn’t win the title, …until he did.

And after all that, he thought “they” wouldn’t have anything else to say, …until they did. The critics have just kept coming with these odd, goalpost-shifting criticisms (the more vague and hard to define the better). And the truth is that they’ll never stop.

I don’t get it. If there’s one that we’ve learned from the plot of 21 Jump Street (the movie), it’s that social labels and Breakfast Club-type stereotypes are a thing of the knuckle-dragging, acid-washed jeans wearing past. Why are we still trying to put people into social construct buckets instead of appreciating their ability to get buckets? Why do our stars also have to be showmen, too? Are you not entertained?

Obviously, I’m biased on a number of levels. As a life-long Celtics fan, I was raised on 80’s championships and a rivalry with the Lakers (and only the Lakers) — not to mention the decades of success across different sports in the Boston area. Fans of other teams or cities are actively looking for any reason not to like someone on a Boston team. Make no mistake that a lot of the criticism is fueled by jealousy. We’re talking about people hurting from teams that neglect or mistreat their fans entirely (and I feel for them). In an alternate universe, those exact same fans would be Tatum’s biggest supporters if he was somehow on their team.

Look, I’m also a boring dad with no rizz and negative aura. My corny jokes make my daughter’s eyes roll so hard I worry that she’ll sprain an eye socket. My idea of a crazy weekend is finishing up the outdoor chores and taking the family out to dinner and ice cream. And let me tell you that I couldn’t be happier or more at peace with my vibe. So, when I get to watch a superstar player on my favorite team thriving while promoting wholesome values and playing the game the right way, wel,l forgive me if I have to wipe a tear from my eye.

Make “Dad Aura” the new vibe. Celebrate guys that coaches adore. Make boring-but-great the new cool. And keep your fabricated face-of-the-league narrative and spare me the litany of things that Jayson Tatum isn’t. Appreciate the man and player that he is.

Or don’t. This message isn’t likely to reach the eyes and ears that it is directed at. All great players have haters that try to discredit the accomplishments and tear down the reputation. Far too many people online just feed off of negative energy and want to watch the world burn. That’s not changing because some boring blogger went on a rant. Oh, well.

I guess I’ll just have to root for an elite player that I would be proud to see my kids emulate. I guess we Tatum appreciators will just have to enjoy him for ourselves.