UHCL professor and NFL star tackle bullying
DANIEL DURBIN
THE SIGNAL
UHCL Associate Professor of Political Science William Hoston and star NFL Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles have co-written a children’s book, released in December 2013, entitled “No Bullies in the Huddle.”
Schoolyards and local playgrounds are supposed to be a place where children learn to socialize with their peers, boost positive interactions and quite simply, have fun.
However, all too often there are those peers who choose to not contribute to the quality social aspects at all but, instead, choose to undermine them.
“No Bullies in the Huddle” centers around a young boy named Cameron whose father is a Wounded Warrior recently out of the Marines. The two of them move from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, where a student on the football team named Ronny, who plays receiver, bullies Cameron. Cameron may be smaller than Ronny, but he is faster on the football field. Cameron’s friend recommends he speak with an adult about the situation to resolve the issue, which can be hard for younger people for fear of retaliation of being labeled a whimp by their peers.
“We’re just trying to break that stereotype,” Hoston said. “You can reach out to adult figures, get good sound advice and you don’t have to be stigmatized in order to do it.”
The book’s message encourages young people to speak out against bullying rather than succumbing to the pressures of harassment.
While the book focuses on children, it has recently been publicized that adults face similar scenarios, even in professional sports.
During the 2013 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins made national headlines when player Richie Incognito was accused of verbally abusing and bullying his teammate Jonathan Martin with threatening and racist voicemails and texts. Martin left the team citing emotional distress, and Incognito was suspended for the remainder of the season.
Bullying has long been attributed as a problem for children and teens, but the unveiling of this harassment at a professional level opened up the discussion regarding the affects bullying can have on adults in their daily lives as well.
“This book is not only for young boys who are athletes, but for the general population,” Hoston said. “We can see a lot of people buying this book for their kids because it has a lot of embedded messages in it.”
Charles Neerman drew the book’s illustrations using vibrant colors to vividly grasp the full details of the story in a way that is appealing to readers of all ages and backgrounds.
“I had a great deal of freedom to draw the characters as I saw them and pictured them from the story,” Neerman said. “Dr. Hoston expressed his idea that he wanted the book to be multicultural. We worked together to represent different ethnic groups of various ages.”
This is the first published book Neerman has illustrated.
“Illustrating children’s books allows me the freedom to draw the old-fashioned way,” he continued. “Plus, I have wanted to be a part of children’s books for quite some time.”
Neerman and Hoston did not know each other prior to working on this book.
“My friend from elementary and high school… contacted me through a small investigation,” Neerman said. “[My friend] works at Kendall Hunt Publishing and has worked with Hoston on several other projects. [Hoston] had an illustrator in mind, but the other person was unable to work on the project at the time.”
“[Neerman] did an amazing job,” said Hoston.
Hoston did know DesSean Jackson before collaborating on the book.
“I am very good friends with his family, particulary his cousin… we set out over a year ago to put this book together because we just wanted to do something to help his foundation and kind of enhance his image,” Hoston said.
Hoston says people naturally like Jackson.
“He’s that guy you just root for, because he’s little and he’s just that guy, you know, 5’10” and 165 pounds, you just root for him because it’s very difficult for someone like that to be in the NFL.”
“No Bullies in the Huddle” is the first book in a series Hoston, Jackson and Neerman plan to produce. In the future, Hoston hopes to garner more athletes to be involved in the project.
“Once you get one [athlete], it’s easy to get two, but it has to be a certain type of athlete… one who has a lot of charisma, that people just latch onto [and] they naturally like,” Hoston said.
Currently, the book is gaining national media attention. Jackson’s national appearances include: Good Morning America, ESPN, The View and 106 and Park.
The profits will be donated to the DeSean Jackson Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer and other various charities.
The book is now available for purchase at www.nobulliesinthehuddle.com as well as local bookstores.
