Josh Moon wrote something worth reading.
I know. I know. Hell has froze over. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are nigh. Rice must have beaten Texas. Cue the trumpets. Surely this is an eschatological sign.
But Moon’s August 3 commentary provides a look into the life of Rev. Chette Williams. It is filled with the usual puffery when profiling someone, but there are a few elements which are helpful to understanding the Auburn program.
I’ve said one of the biggest problems facing coaches today is that many of the players who arrive on campus are the most at-risk for bad behavior. Many are without male role models, and are ill-equipped for the freedom of college life or the celebrity of being a SEC football player.
Moon glosses over the problems Tuberville faced immediately on arrival. In his first year, Tuberville’s had players arrested for a second-degree rape, assault, firing a gun on campus and harassment. And I’m not even counting the non-arrests like when a player got shot in the stomach by his wife. Auburn had serious troubles when Tuberville arrived. Glossing over them takes away from Tuberville’s accomplishment in bringing order to chaos.
Williams points out problems go beyond the police blotter.
“Everybody has their problems,” Williams said. “We certainly do. It’s a fact of life that when you’re dealing with a bunch of 18- and 19-year-olds, they’re going to have problems. We just handle them and let them know that they’re not alone. Our players do a great job of helping each other. That’s the difference.”
With players helping each other, that means they are showing leadership. They are holding one another accountable, and providing needed support in a sometimes unfriendly world.
If churches did more of this, there might be less problems with illegitimacy and divorce in evangelical congregations.
One element of the column provided me a little discomfort. Williams implied anyone who questioned his motives or work were just giving voice to the devil.
Williams, of course, has heard all of the innuendoes and outright accusations. He said he tries to simply ignore it.
“I know where it’s coming from,” he said. “It’s the devil. He’s angry with me. I have good friends who know me and know what I’m about. I have good friends at Alabama and they know what I do. This is all about helping kids and working for God. There’s nothing else that matters to me.”
It easy to ascribe evil motivations to someone from an opposing side, or viewpoint. But evil isn’t always the reason someone opposes you. Sometimes, you have opposition because people disagree with you.
One thing everyone agrees on is that Williams has a remarkable story. From his days as a player to his ministry, Williams has a story worth hearing.
It is a story that shows the best way to help a player is to give them an opportunity to know God. Wow. Who would’ve guessed.
15 thoughts on “Read Moon, Really”
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Thank you for this article….Some people , unforunately , will not see it this way.But it is just as Chette said. Good vs evil. The only way to reach these young men, and to make a differencein thier lives, is to do exactly what Chette Williams is doing, and that is to share Gods love with them.
I am not going to pretend I know much about what Chette does at Auburn; mainly because it happens at Auburn. It obvoiuly seems to be a really good thing, and if you can put aside one’s hatred for an opposing team; it’s something that all schools should try and replicate.
I give Williams more credit with Auburns recent off the field succes than I do T.T. Even Tubbs gives Chette the credit…You cant argue with results…
I don’t think anyone can overstate the need for having people like Williams involved in a program. Male role models, or mentors, are so important to reaching at-risk youth.
Moon mentioned something in his column that I didn’t quote, but is also important. Williams has credibility with his players because he has gone through the same types of things as a player.
Cap….Yalls mouthpiece, Shane, tried his best to have Chette fired. Also tried his best to throw him under the NCAA bus..Makes you think about who you let blog here, I hope…..
Shane may take his hatred for Auburn to the most insanely irrelevant levels, but other than that, he’s not a terrible blogger.
If he refrains from mentioning anything related to Auburn in his phone calls or blogs, how would you feel about him as a person?
Josh Moon and Phillip Marshall both had their fair share of Shane relations in some of their blogs. Maybe not as bad, but close.
Aubies claim he’s worthless at what he does, but in reality, he’s not bad when he’s not ditching Auburn in his blogs.
I’ve heard nothing but positive things about Bro. Williams, other than what I read in Shane’s columns, but it’s his duty to bad mouth the opposing team, just as it’s the same duty for your bloggers and fans to do.
What makes Shane any different? Imagine what kind of blogs I-Man must write, if he writes any at all!
LCN…I dont have any kind of problem with the rivalry/hate thingy, o.k….Its when he rakes an innocent man over the coals, thats so screwed up. Chette Williams did not deserve what Shane did. That was out and out slander. That transcends rivalry and goes to the borderline criminal…..Shane does not know his butt from a hole in the ground, and mark my words, what goes around comes around. He sucks as a blogger because he cannot see fantasy from reality. Read this weeks column for gosh sakes….Youd friggin think its 1975….In all seiousness, what Bama fan does not know that those days are over, and that ship has sailed? I DO NOT doubt that Bama could win a National Championship, and soon. But not in the next 2 – 3 years. And they will NEVER, nor will anyone else EVER, dominate CFB like Bahr did in the 60s-70s….It is an entirely different animal….If a team wins 2 championships in a decade, It is considered a humongous milestone….LSU for instance. But did they dominate? Heck no….If youd have told me ten years ago that the eventual BCS champion would have 2 losses , one to KENTUCKY !!!!and the other to ARKANSAS !!!! I would have asked you what you were smoking. In o3 thay had a loss too…. 2 National Championships with three losses in a decade…..See where Im going….Shane is not living in reality. Bama is not set up to win more than 8 games this year….PERIOD….That is an honost evaluation….No hate involved….Look at the schedule for yourselves, then look at Bamas roster. Ten wins aint happenin….Shane column is already hinting that Saban better get it right THIS year…Or that he is gonna tighten someones arse…Read it for yourself…That is what gives Bama a bad name nationally….Yalls fanbase…People like Shane….The delusion doesnt come from what he says or thinks about Auburn, Im fine with that. Its what he thinks about Alabama…
Well said BallPlay.
Calm down, Ballplay. You act as if Shane is alone in the universe of bloggers. You act as if there are no Alabama Tech, or any fan to that matter, bloggers who don’t blow things out of proportion more times than usual. Half the time when he talks nonsensically about Alabama Tech, I don’t pay him any mind unless he provides substantiated facts, such as the whole “Tuberville not as tough as touted” blog which was a near perfect retaliation to all the Barnies who’ve thrown Saban under the bus for questionable disciplinary procedures in his first season.
He may speak lowly on Chette Williams, but is that nearly as bad as poking fun of Tyrone Prothro, a good-hearted athlete with a rare gift that’s typically unseen in this day and time, by posting gruesome images all over Alabama forums with a subtitle reading, “There goes the season!” Prothro was a gifted athlete that seemed to have had a good heart and what happened to him is not something worth making fun of, period. Or repetitively saying Bear Bryant is dead. Yes, we idolize him in a way NASCAR fans idolize Dale Ernhart, or the way Yankees fans idolize Babe Ruth, but this is a man who changed the face of the game, and was more than just a coach and whether we win another championship or not, he’ll always hold significant meaning in our hearts regardless as to whether our program is suffering or dominating. What if this was your grandfather people targeted in such a classless manner? It’s not worth . If your father passed on, or a man you respect with everything you are, how would you feel if the people who worked across the street from him literally celebrated his demise? I could go on and on.
The point is your fans are no more perfect than our’s is. Shane’s mind may still lurk in the 1960s, but I’ve spent plenty of time on Auburn message boards to fully understand the vast majority of Auburn fans have absurd expectations as well. The same logic should be applied to any fan base to that matter, unless it’s Vanderbilt of course. No fans are any different than the other, and that’s a lesson we all should learn before getting in over our heads.
George, I agree and well said…I do not like it when people bash good people period. Any one who would bash Prothro is an idiot..I dont like seeing the Tebow hate, and I cant stand Florida…But I can tell you that I would call out an Auburn fan doing either of these things. Shane obsession with tearing down Auburn reached a new level with the Chette thing..Little did the doosh realise, but Bama got Chette to come to Bama and help them set up a program like Auburn has. Not bragging, but that is fact. He gladly did it because his heart is for the young men… It would be refreshing to see some of your fans call Shane out.. He really makes yall look bad….I cant express this enough. And I know , that like you say, a lot of these blogs are tounge in cheek. I get that. But Shane is obsessed man. Listen when he calls the show. WOW !!
And I will disagree on one thing George. Our fans are not as nutty as yours are. Go to any national board and ask for yourself..Bama fans for the most part, are just like Shane.
Auburn fans respect Chette, but it is nice to see others also recognize him. For some people Shane to question him without fact is breaking one of the Big 10.. do not bear false witness… If Shane has facts, then bring them… I pray for Shane today… Shane should pray that he is forgiven.
AMEN! Auburn77
Ballplay,
Yeah he may have ridiculous expectations but some Bama fans haven’t learnt their lesson yet.
I don’t understand why you have a problem with what he says and thinks about Alabama. I can understand Auburn but not Alabama.
If he thinks Alabama will win the national championship next year, he’ll be heartbroken in the end. Not you.
LCN….Point taken….People can, and will, reserve the right to be delusional. I guess the second half of my rant was unwarrented. But the first half (the whole anti-Chette thing) definantly needed saying…
I cannot say anything bad about Chette Williams, except he has one of the most atrocious names ever. I mean really, who names their child Chette?
Also Chette makes a fine caddy. And has been known to keep several of our “less fortunate” athletes gainfully employed washing a car for $2,500 a week.
Chette is Auburn’s Jesse Jackson.