Jayson Tatum has a complicated relationship with his father, the man who coached him into becoming the player he is today. However, his father took an aggressive approach, often berating and humiliating Tatum to toughen him up for a life in the NBA. The treatment was so rough that Tatum used to wonder if his father even liked him as a child.

 

“I missed out on a father-son relationship. My dad only went to games, practice, and haircuts. We didn’t go to amusement parks, picnics, fishing, or have father-son talks because it was all basketball. He was extremely tough on me. Cuss me out in front of everybody, embarrass me, humiliate me, throw the ball at me in front of everybody. In his eyes, he wanted me to be the toughest and the best… I felt like he didn’t like me as a kid because he was so mean to me. Of course, he did, but as a kid, I couldn’t separate coach from dad. He would always tell me I was soft or that I wouldn’t make it. He would take to the extremes… I didn’t have a real father-son relationship. Would I change it? No. But there are things I missed out on as a kid.”

Tatum is an incredibly loving father to his son Deuce and it’s clear he’s trying to be an affectionate and involved father in his son’s life. When Deuce is old enough to start training regularly, maybe he sees a different side of his father.

But it’s likely that Jayson mixes his father’s stone-cold approach with a more tender touch to try and maximize the results his father’s system brings while maintaining a positive relationship with his son.

Jayson has made it clear that he has no ill will with his father, understanding why that treatment has helped him become the player he is today. He has accrued generational wealth for the Tatum family and it wouldn’t have been possible without his father’s methods, even if they might have been cruel.

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Tatum On When His Father Called Him A ‘B*tch’ And Held Him Up Against A Wall

Graham Bensinger asked Tatum to discuss a story of his father picking him up and holding him up against a wall just to call him a b*tch and hurl abuses at him. Tatum confirmed the story and tried to rationalize why his father did that.

“I was scared of him. He would grab me by my shirt, pin me up against the wall, and cuss me out in front of everybody. I’d be bawling. He called me out by name. But then I’d come out at half time and I’d outscore the rest of the team and win. In his mind, he had to push my buttons to get to a certain point.”

Given the stories Jamal Murray has about his father making him pick leaves in the snow or balance boiling hot tea cups on his hands to harden his palms, it’s clear that some sort of excessive discipline could lead children into paths like this. However, success stories like Tatum and Murray are few. In reality, many parents try to train their children in sports with this mentality but end up alienating them if their chosen career doesn’t work out.

Tatum and Murray can look back at their childhoods with gratitude, even if they miss the love a father should’ve given them as kids. But when it leads to making more money than imaginable, family reunions are more amenable than bitter.

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