DeAngelo Williams takes back daughter’s participation ribbon because she didn’t win and motivates her to finish first
Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams hates participation awards. He hates them so much that when his daughter won a participation ribbon at a school track meet he took it away from her and gave it back to her teachers. Why? His lesson to his daughter was that if she wants an award she has to earn it.
“I was like, ‘No baby girl. You didn’t win. You got one for participating. Give me that, you didn’t win anything. I’m taking it back.”
Williams’ hard-line stance is attributed to what he calls “the entitlement age,” which he views as kids wanting awards for everything and never learning the value of hard work.
Participation ribbons are a quandary. On the one hand I understand wanting to instill the importance of hard work, but on the other hand not all children have NFL players as parents. Some kids just aren’t athletically gifted, but they might deserve credit for trying anyway and not simply choosing to shy away from sports all together because they’re not good at them.
For DeAngelo Williams the message was heard loud and clear. His daughter participated in three more events and finished with a first place and two thirds.
