Last night, I made a simple request on X. I asked if anybody visiting Arlington National Cemetery for Memorial Day would stop by Alan’s grave and leave a photo for our family.
What happened next honestly caught me off guard.
By this afternoon, dozens of Americans from all walks of life had made the walk to Section 60 to visit SSG Alan W. Shaw. Veterans. Families. Complete strangers. People who had never met Alan, but chose to honor him anyway.
For one day on social media, people put aside the constant noise and negativity and came together for something bigger than themselves. My notifications filled with photos, kind messages, prayers, and stories from people honoring not just Alan, but so many of our fallen heroes.
I don’t think people fully understand what moments like this mean to Gold Star families. The fear is never just losing them. It’s losing them slowly over time as the world moves on and fewer people remember their name.
But today showed me that Alan will never be forgotten.
After years of watching social media reward some of the worst parts of humanity, today gave me a reminder that the good is still out there too.
Thank you to every single person who stopped by to visit Alan today, said his name, shared his story, or took a moment to honor the fallen.
This right here is the America Alan knew and loved enough to fight and die for.
And today, y’all showed us all that it’s still here and it’s still worth fighting for. 🇺🇸
Thank you to all who have served our great nation and a special thank you to the heroes that paid the ultimate sacrifice. May we never forget the price that was paid for our freedom. 🇺🇸
Thank you Mike for taking an interest in Dalton’s story. If you read this and feel moved to do something, please consider donating to Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital or East TN Children’s Hospital. Kids are fighting daily in those two great places and could use your support.
Dalton Waggoner was less than two weeks old when he was given one week to live.
He has lived 1,121 weeks since that grim prognosis due to a congenital heart defect.
You've seen him at Tennessee basketball games for three years. This is his story. https://t.co/mqcHfnbNtj
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes after his 250th win with the Vols: People said I came here to retire. I didn't. I came here to coach. I knew what we could do here. The people here, the fans, this school, everything, it's amazing. I'm so blessed and so thankful God brought me here.
@SouthwestAir@RobertSureck This is same canned response that I’ve seen for 2 week. Longtime SWA flyer with first flight with new system in a few weeks and dreading it.
This smells absolutely like horse manure. Get an impartial judge and let it play out. He signed the contract. Let me know what your all time great football coach thinks.
While Coach Oats provided his perspective earlier today on Charles Bediako and the process of him becoming eligible to compete for the Crimson Tide, I wanted to follow up with some additional thoughts. I think it’s safe to say the majority of us have concerns about the state of college athletics and are all for uniformity versus inconsistencies.
There are many programs across the country with former G League and EuroLeague players on their rosters who have been deemed eligible. At the end of the day, these are men with professional basketball experience that are now playing in college. The distinctions between those cases and Charles’ situation are without real differences. A professional contract should be a professional contract. Why should a student-athlete who earned millions competing professionally overseas be eligible to return to college, while someone earning $50,000 annually in the NBA G League is not? Similarly, an athlete who leaves high school for professional basketball returning to college later is okay, while a student who entered the draft during college, perhaps based on incomplete or poor advice, may be barred. These distinctions are impossible to explain, undermine confidence in the system and do not meaningfully advance the educational mission of college athletics.
That said, we must remain competitive and act in the best interest of our teams. As Coach Oats stated, Charles is still within his five-year window, is 23 years old and started classes again this semester to work towards degree completion. He’s also not taking away any opportunities from a high school prospect or anyone else with there being a vacant roster spot.
If this particular case can help shape the future of the sport, and better regulation of college athletics as a whole, we welcome that.
While Coach Oats provided his perspective earlier today on Charles Bediako and the process of him becoming eligible to compete for the Crimson Tide, I wanted to follow up with some additional thoughts. I think it’s safe to say the majority of us have concerns about the state of college athletics and are all for uniformity versus inconsistencies.
There are many programs across the country with former G League and EuroLeague players on their rosters who have been deemed eligible. At the end of the day, these are men with professional basketball experience that are now playing in college. The distinctions between those cases and Charles’ situation are without real differences. A professional contract should be a professional contract. Why should a student-athlete who earned millions competing professionally overseas be eligible to return to college, while someone earning $50,000 annually in the NBA G League is not? Similarly, an athlete who leaves high school for professional basketball returning to college later is okay, while a student who entered the draft during college, perhaps based on incomplete or poor advice, may be barred. These distinctions are impossible to explain, undermine confidence in the system and do not meaningfully advance the educational mission of college athletics.
That said, we must remain competitive and act in the best interest of our teams. As Coach Oats stated, Charles is still within his five-year window, is 23 years old and started classes again this semester to work towards degree completion. He’s also not taking away any opportunities from a high school prospect or anyone else with there being a vacant roster spot.
If this particular case can help shape the future of the sport, and better regulation of college athletics as a whole, we welcome that.
@nate_oats uses the the hashtag #bluecollarball. His idea of blue collar is using the judicial system. Took his 5th whopping in a row from a Blue Collar coach. Nothing about @AlabamaMBB is Blue Collar. You can put your fans in YMCA headwear but that ain’t blue collar. @theronslay
That's All I'm talking about!!! The "WILL" that's all I'm asking for. Y'all handled that and grew up tonight and stayed together!! Y'all feel free to tell me to "Shut the hell up Big Slay, we got this" That's the DOGS I've been looking for!!! #GoVols#ThatsAllWeKnow
This is a @RickBarnesUT type win for @Vol_Hoops. On road, down, underdog, other team signs a pro player……win. Most dangerous when his back is to the wall.