Ever wonder what it’s like to be the mother of a professional athlete?  Well NASFA sat down with Linnea Tatupu, mother of Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu and daughter of a former U.S. Marine (Father) and Air Force (Mother) couple.    

How involved is Linnea in the career of Lofa? 

Linnea:
I was there from the start.  It was one of those things where I knew from the time he was four when we would sit and watch games together to the time that he started Pop Warner, Lofa was going to pursue football.  When Lofa turned 11 I decided to get certified as a personal trainer so I could get him in the weightroom and my involvement continued from there.  Now that he’s grown up, he is with the big guys and there isn’t a lot that is needed from me now. 

Linnea grew up around football, married a former professional player, and mothered a professional football player.  With that said, the amount of knowledge Linnea professed in this interview was mind boggling.  Going on about her influence on Lofa and her love for football: 

Linnea:
What I used to love about sitting back and watching people coach, you watch Madden coach and he’s so far removed from the way Landry coached.  You aren’t going to get the same kind of response you get out of Tony Dungy or Herm Edwards as you do other coaches.  Seeing the variety of coaching is truly an experience, so when Lofa was coming up I would always hope for the best coach for that situation.  Going to USC I knew Lofa would be in good hands, especially when Ken Norton Jr. was hired as his position coach after Nick Holt left.  As a mother you have to know when to step back.  It went up to his rookie year and about last year when he would talk to me before every game.  I was the last person he would talk to before going into the locker room.  I miss that because that’s the last connection I really felt we had, because there is a difference sitting there talking it up with your buddies as opposed to talking with your mom and asking, “how did I do?”  I miss that, but at the same token I was telling him how he was doing whether he asked me or not.  Now I am on the other side of it.  Now I basically work with Lofa on charitable efforts.

As you may have heard, Adam "Pacman" Jones, the controversial cornerback for the Tennessee Titans, has been denied an opportunity to wrestle for Total Nonstop Action by the NFL. The NFL filed a restraining order, citing TNA would fall under the category of activities 'which may involve a significant risk of personal injury,' specifically banned in all player contracts. Most know that these matches are glorified acting jobs with very little contact and room for injury. The NFL is denying Pacman employment, and should reconsider this seriously.

One previous example of a football player wrestling during his career is the legendary Reggie White. He participated in World Championship Wrestling following his Super Bowl win in 1997 with the Packers. In this particular instance, the NFL chose to ignore the clause and allow White to wrestle. Other examples include Alex Karras, Ed "Wahoo" McDaniel, and Kevin Greene. There seems to be a double standard the NFL is setting with Pacman.