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The Herald Scotland
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Football just part of the equation for Jerome Bettis and son
Coming off the line of scrimmage, an eyewitness critic concluded, the young wide receiver wasn't physical enough in fighting off the cornerback's hands. Sure, he otherwise sparkled at the FBU camp, early in his high school days. But that one play, which his dad has on videotape, is in the bucket as a "lost rep" that remains a case that can be used against as an everlasting teaching moment. It figures. The loquacious father, Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, is not one to mince words when compelled to make a point. "We went over it in the moment, we went over it when we got home," Bettis Jr. recently reflected. "And we just went over it a couple of days ago." A couple of days ago? Rome, as Bettis Jr. is called, is now a freshman receiver at Notre Dame, his dad's alma mater. Yet as he and his famous father chatted with USA TODAY Sports in the basement of the family's suburban mansion in late May, the day before the kid headed back to college, it was apparent that there is no expiration date when it comes to feedback from "The Bus." Call it one of the privileges - that's how Rome sees it -- of being groomed by a father enshrined in Canton as one of the greatest players in football history. Then there was the dropped pass against Collins Hill High last fall. Rome, 18, a three-star recruit who starred at Woodward Academy, calls it his biggest regret from his high school career. Let Papa Bus explain. "You've got to make the big plays," Bettis preached. "This could have turned the game around. You, being the guy, you have to think that way. Every opportunity, you have to seize. And this was an opportunity that he let slip away. You have to make the difficult catches! That's what you're going to be gauged on. Can you make that one play that's going to change the game? You have to hold yourself to a higher standard. "I need him to raise his level of what he expects from himself. If you want to be the player that you say you want to be, that's the play you've got to make." Bettis, 53, who retired from a 13-year NFL career after winning Super Bowl 40 with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his hometown of Detroit in 2006, insists that he never demanded that Rome pursue football. He often told him that he played football so that he didn't have to. "Sometimes, you push a kid, he resents you for that," Bettis said. "The last thing I wanted was to be that dad that my son resented. I just tried to encourage him. And then at an early age, I got him with other coaches, so he wasn't listening to my voice all the time. He could hear someone telling him the same things I was telling him, but just in a different voice. I was hoping he wouldn't be turned off to football because of me." Still, Bettis calls himself "a rollercoaster dad" with a distinct sense of pride. "I was going to ride with him on every play." That was surely passed down. Bettis' parents, Gladys and his late father, Johnnie, never missed a single game during his entire football journey from high school through the NFL. A generation later, the son has added a layer to that tradition. The Bus swears that he has every snap that Rome played in high school (both ways, including cornerback) that he taped himself on his iPhone. "Whenever he sees something that we need to touch on or something to clean up, he'll bring it to my attention and we'll go from there," Rome said. Father and son both emphasize the mind. While Rome points to his dad's advice about intentional and maintaining a structure for his approach to the game, Bettis stresses the importance of a "psychological toolbox" to deal with adversity in the heat of competition. MORE: Aaron Rodgers went to Mike Tomlin's backyard cookout. There was chemistry (and good food) "At this stage in these kids' lives, there's nobody really giving them the psychological side of it," Bettis said. "Some kids develop it more than others, but it's there. You just have to tap into it. I've tried to provide that type of resource and give him the why as to a lot of these things happening or not. And give him a better perspective of where he's trying to go." It can be argued that Rome, a finance major, might have increased pressure by choosing Notre Dame. He also considered Duke and Texas A&M, yet insists that he doesn't feel ay added weight because of his dad's legacy in South Bend. "Yes, my dad's influence caused me to choose Notre Dame, but not in the way that everybody would think," he said. "What made me make the decision was the way I was raised by him and my mother." The nod to his mother, Trameka, and to the academics she and Jerome stressed, represents only part of the equation. Another key hook is his sister, Jada, 20, a rising junior at Notre Dame majoring in strategic management. Perhaps Jada doesn't wind up at Notre Dame, though, if her father didn't return for a semester in 2022 to complete the coursework needed to earn a business degree - only 28 years after he left for the NFL. MORE: 'I wish he'd have retired already': Some Steelers fans hate Aaron Rodgers signing Bettis commuted to South Bend - he'd fly back for weekends - and became the full-time student whose adjustment included the heavy reliance on technology that didn't exist three decades earlier. "There was a huge learning curve for me," he said. Jada was a high school junior at the time. Bettis cleared it with his professors to allow her to accompany him to classes for a day and get a glimpse of college life. "She got a chance to see the campus from a different perspective," Bettis said. "She had always gone to games with me, but she saw it from a student's perspective, which led to her to take a class in the summer. She was there for two weeks and fell in love with the campus. "And she was a huge influence on his decision on where go to school. So, very bog domino effect. If I hadn't gone back to school, I don't know if he'd be there now." Bettis' father used to tell him, "I gave you your good name. Don't screw it up." Now Bettis, rolling with the same classic humor, tells Rome the same. So far, so good. Bettis expects that he will get a hold of practice video and serve up feedback, but he has no plans of attending training camp or practice sessions. Never mind that he's a Fighting Irish legend. He's also a dad. At the spring game, Bettis was invited to watch from the sideline or from a private suite. He politely declined. He wanted no VIP status. "All I wanted to do was sit in the family section and see him come out of that tunnel with that gold helmet on," Bettis said. "I wanted to cherish that. I got a chance to do it as a dad. That was super-important to do." Of course, Bettis videotaped that special occasion. After all, it's a habit. As Bettis figures, "Why stop now?" Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell
USA Today
15-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jerome Bettis is a Hall of Famer. His son is following in Papa Bus' footsteps
Editor's note: This story is a part of a series by USA TODAY Sports called Project: June. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month because fans know the league truly never sleeps. ATLANTA – It was a simple slant route, against press coverage, during a 7-on-7 football camp. Happened in 2021. And Jerome Bettis Jr. is still catching grief for it. Coming off the line of scrimmage, an eyewitness critic concluded, the young wide receiver wasn't physical enough in fighting off the cornerback's hands. Sure, he otherwise sparkled at the FBU camp, early in his high school days. But that one play, which his dad has on videotape, is in the bucket as a 'lost rep' that remains a case that can be used against him…or as an everlasting teaching moment. It figures. The loquacious father, Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, is not one to mince words when compelled to make a point. 'We went over it in the moment, we went over it when we got home,' Bettis Jr. recently reflected. 'And we just went over it a couple of days ago.' A couple of days ago? Rome, as Bettis Jr. is called, is now a freshman receiver at Notre Dame, his dad's alma mater. Yet as he and his famous father chatted with USA TODAY Sports in the basement of the family's suburban mansion in late May, the day before the kid headed back to college, it was apparent that there is no expiration date when it comes to feedback from "The Bus." Call it one of the privileges – that's how Rome sees it -- of being groomed by a father enshrined in Canton as one of the greatest players in football history. Then there was the dropped pass against Collins Hill High last fall. Rome, 18, a three-star recruit who starred at Woodward Academy, calls it his biggest regret from his high school career. Let Papa Bus explain. 'You've got to make the big plays,' Bettis preached. 'This could have turned the game around. You, being the guy, you have to think that way. Every opportunity, you have to seize. And this was an opportunity that he let slip away. You have to make the difficult catches! That's what you're going to be gauged on. Can you make that one play that's going to change the game? You have to hold yourself to a higher standard. 'I need him to raise his level of what he expects from himself. If you want to be the player that you say you want to be, that's the play you've got to make.' Bettis, 53, who retired from a 13-year NFL career after winning Super Bowl 40 with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his hometown of Detroit in 2006, insists that he never demanded that Rome pursue football. He often told him that he played football so that he didn't have to. 'Sometimes, you push a kid, he resents you for that,' Bettis said. 'The last thing I wanted was to be that dad that my son resented. I just tried to encourage him. And then at an early age, I got him with other coaches, so he wasn't listening to my voice all the time. He could hear someone telling him the same things I was telling him, but just in a different voice. I was hoping he wouldn't be turned off to football because of me.' Still, Bettis calls himself 'a rollercoaster dad' with a distinct sense of pride. 'I was going to ride with him on every play.' That was surely passed down. Bettis' parents, Gladys and his late father, Johnnie, never missed a single game during his entire football journey from high school through the NFL. A generation later, the son has added a layer to that tradition. The Bus swears that he has every snap that Rome played in high school (both ways, including cornerback) that he taped himself on his iPhone. 'Whenever he sees something that we need to touch on or something to clean up, he'll bring it to my attention and we'll go from there,' Rome said. Father and son both emphasize the mind. While Rome points to his dad's advice about intentional and maintaining a structure for his approach to the game, Bettis stresses the importance of a 'psychological toolbox' to deal with adversity in the heat of competition. 'At this stage in these kids' lives, there's nobody really giving them the psychological side of it,' Bettis said. 'Some kids develop it more than others, but it's there. You just have to tap into it. I've tried to provide that type of resource and give him the why as to a lot of these things happening or not. And give him a better perspective of where he's trying to go.' It can be argued that Rome, a finance major, might have increased pressure by choosing Notre Dame. He also considered Duke and Texas A&M, yet insists that he doesn't feel ay added weight because of his dad's legacy in South Bend. 'Yes, my dad's influence caused me to choose Notre Dame, but not in the way that everybody would think,' he said. 'What made me make the decision was the way I was raised by him and my mother.' The nod to his mother, Trameka, and to the academics she and Jerome stressed, represents only part of the equation. Another key hook is his sister, Jada, 20, a rising junior at Notre Dame majoring in strategic management. Perhaps Jada doesn't wind up at Notre Dame, though, if her father didn't return for a semester in 2022 to complete the coursework needed to earn a business degree – only 28 years after he left for the NFL. Bettis commuted to South Bend – he'd fly back for weekends – and became the full-time student whose adjustment included the heavy reliance on technology that didn't exist three decades earlier. 'There was a huge learning curve for me,' he said. Jada was a high school junior at the time. Bettis cleared it with his professors to allow her to accompany him to classes for a day and get a glimpse of college life. 'She got a chance to see the campus from a different perspective,' Bettis said. 'She had always gone to games with me, but she saw it from a student's perspective, which led to her to take a class in the summer. She was there for two weeks and fell in love with the campus. 'And she was a huge influence on his decision on where go to school. So, very bog domino effect. If I hadn't gone back to school, I don't know if he'd be there now.' Bettis' father used to tell him, 'I gave you your good name. Don't screw it up.' Now Bettis, rolling with the same classic humor, tells Rome the same. So far, so good. Bettis expects that he will get a hold of practice video and serve up feedback, but he has no plans of attending training camp or practice sessions. Never mind that he's a Fighting Irish legend. He's also a dad. At the spring game, Bettis was invited to watch from the sideline or from a private suite. He politely declined. He wanted no VIP status. 'All I wanted to do was sit in the family section and see him come out of that tunnel with that gold helmet on,' Bettis said. 'I wanted to cherish that. I got a chance to do it as a dad. That was super-important to do.' Of course, Bettis videotaped that special occasion. After all, it's a habit. As Bettis figures, 'Why stop now?' Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Corbynista MP Zarah Sultana under fire because she 'didn't declare marriage to senior official at trade union she lobbied for in Parliament'
A Labour politician who lobbied for the Fire Brigades Union in Parliament was last night under fire for failing to declare her marriage to one of its senior policy officers. Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana married the FBU's Craig Lloyd last August - and then went on to speak up for key FBU demands in the Commons, including calling for more funding for fire services. In the months leading up to the wedding, when the pair were living together in London, Corbynista Ms Sultana accepted a £10,000 donation from the union for her re-election campaign. Both before and after the wedding she has also been the chair of the FBU's Parliamentary Group, the union's political campaign team. Under the parliamentary code of conduct, MPs are meant to declare anything that could be seen to influence them as well as declaring any family members involved in lobbying the Government. Last night, Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, said he had 'no doubt' that Ms Sultana should 'declare that relationship as part of her interests as an MP'. He added: 'In the role that she admits that he has, clearly he is bound to have a dialogue with the MP about the issues and about his relationship with Ministers. So I think it would be absolutely appropriate for her to declare that relationship.' Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said: 'Ms Sultana should declare this relationship in the interests of openness and transparency. As MPs, we all have a duty to let voters know if our family life has any bearing on our work at Westminster.' Approached for comment by the MoS, Ms Sultana launched an astonishing attack on the Labour Party, making unsubstantiated and false claims that it was 'a smear from the Labour right' and that it was revenge for her remarks linking Peter Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein. She did not respond to repeated questions of whether she should have declared the relationship. These latest revelations come just a week after the MoS revealed that Labour MP Mary Foy is in an undeclared relationship with militant former fireman Matt Wrack, who led the FBU for two decades until January. Ms Foy introduced Early Day Motions on behalf of the union, had a union staff member seconded to her office and accepted its £2,000 donation - all while in a relationship with its boss. She has since referred herself to Parliament's standards watchdog. MPs are required to declare any relevant interests which 'might reasonably be thought by others to influence' their actions, according to the code of conduct. They are also required to declare any family members involved in lobbying, including their spouses and 'cohabiting partners'. Lobbying is defined as those working in a professional capacity to attempt to influence, or advise those who want to influence, the Government or public sector at any level. It is not limited to only those who are employed as lobbyists. Mr Lloyd was behind an FBU guide called 'how to lobby your MP' published in 2022. In the guide, which told union members how to ask for their MPs' support for union demands, his email was listed as being available to help 'follow up on all contacts' with politicians. Mr Lloyd (above) was behind an FBU guide called 'how to lobby your MP' published in 2022. In the guide, which told union members how to ask for their MPs' support for union demands, his email was listed as being available to help 'follow up on all contacts' with politicians As a senior researcher and policy officer, Mr Lloyd was involved in various FBU policy campaigns. Last year he was publicly thanked by a senior official for working on 'the contribution that this union made to the Scottish Government's budget considerations'. He was also seconded by the FBU in 2021 to work with Momentum - a leftwing pressure group which campaigns to change the Labour Party - according to a report published by the Campaign for a Democratic FBU. His wife Ms Sultana has called for 'proper funding and resources' for the fire service and has pledged her support for two Early Day Motions introduced on the FBU's behalf in Parliament. During the relationship, she also voted against a Bill requiring unions to provide minimum service levels during strikes - in line with FBU demands. Approached by the MoS, Ms Sultana refused to say whether she thought she should have declared the relationship. Ms Sultana was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party last summer alongside six other Labour MPs after voting against the Government on the two-child benefit cap. She said: 'As the right wing of the Labour Party are devoid of principles, they can't understand that I support the FBU and other trade unions not because of personal relationships or personal gain, but because I am a trade unionist. I've always stood with workers across the country long before I met my partner, who has never had a role lobbying MPs. His role in the FBU is Senior Researcher, which involves engaging with internal Labour Party processes and liaison with Ministers, neither of which involve me as a backbench MP. 'Trade unions are not lobbyists. They represent working people, the majority of the public, unlike the lobbyists for private business and powerful Governments who have the ear of many other politicians, including Sir Keir Starmer. Unlike them, I don't work for the wealthy or the well-connected. 'This is nothing more than a desperate smear from the Labour right because I called out Peter Mandelson's links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and Morgan McSweeney for copying Enoch Powell's fascist language. For reference: I wouldn't use [the MoS] even if I ran out of toilet paper.' Last night an FBU spokesman said: 'The FBU is proud to campaign for and work closely with Labour MPs who champion the cause of workers' rights at Westminster. 'Our staff and officials played a pivotal role in campaigning to ensure that Labour's General Election manifesto included a plan to extend employment rights such as banning zero-hour contracts and outlawing fire and rehire. 'That was a highly positive intervention by the FBU and a huge step forward for working people. 'The FBU's funding of the Labour Party and election campaigns is completely transparent. It is the cleanest money in politics and is in stark contrast to that of the Tories and Reform UK who are bankrolled by the super rich. 'Every political donation made by the union goes through a democratic process and is agreed by the FBU's elected executive council.'
Daily Mirror
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Trade unions join forces to demand end to ban on 'sympathy strikes'
Secondary industrial action - where a trade union asks its members to take action against their employer in solidarity with workers elsewhere who are in dispute - has been banned since the early 1990s Trade unions have joined together to call for laws banning 'sympathy strikes' to be scrapped. Secondary industrial action - where a trade union asks its members to take action against their employer in solidarity with workers elsewhere who are in dispute - has been banned since the early 1990s. Now the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the British Medical Association (BMA) and other unions have signed a joint statement in support of a proposed change to the Employment Rights Bill, currently going through the House of Lords. The statement reads: "For too long, the current legal restrictions have served to isolate disputes, weaken solidarity and limit workers' ability to collectively challenge unfair conditions - particularly in an increasingly fragmented and outsourced employment landscape.' Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright said: 'It's time for the government to finally overturn anti-worker laws brought in by the Conservatives to attack pay and conditions. 'The ban on workers supporting strikes across sectors is a Tory relic from the nineties. 'The aim has always been to isolate and limit workers' ability to stand up against employers threatening pay cuts and worsening conditions. 'These undemocratic restrictions are part of the UK being one of the worst countries for workers' rights in Europe. We urge all members of the House of Lords to support this amendment and restore this basic democratic right.'
BBC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Labour MP Mary Foy failed to declare relationship with union boss
Labour MP Mary Foy has referred herself to Parliament's standards watchdog after lobbying on behalf of a trade union run by her Durham MP is understood to be in a relationship with Matt Wrack, who was the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for two decades until January introduced two campaigns in Parliament about the FBU and also received a £2,000 donation from the union in August 2024. She did not declare her relationship on the MPs' register of told the BBC: "I've contacted the standards commissioner to ensure all of my work is recorded in line with the rules - as any MP would." Wrack has not responded to a request for has introduced two Early Day Motions about firefighters in the House of Commons - one in November 2022 about pay increases, and a second in November 2023 about protecting them from toxic contaminants which can cause Day Motions are used by MPs to draw attention to campaigns but very few are debated in Parliament. She also lists an FBU employee under her name on the register of MPs' staff, meaning they receive a security pass for the parliamentary was ousted as the FBU's general secretary earlier this year after facing a leadership challenge from another union official. He is currently acting general secretary of the education union said in a statement: "As a Member of Parliament I work with a wide range of stakeholders, including a number of trade unions."I've proudly advocated for paramedics, prison officers, teachers, firefighters, doctors and other frontline staff in Durham, the wider North East and indeed the country during my time as an MP - that work will only continue."The parliamentary commissioner for standards declined to comment. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
