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'The Next Level: A Game I Had To Play!' is the autobiography of an
'Improbable' journey of Vernon Turner. "When people look at me and my
life from the outside, they say man, VT has it all; this guy actually lived
the American dream".
"When people look at me, they see me smiling almost all the time, always
with a positive attitude, always with a glass half full outlook on everything.
But what people don't see is the bad dreams... and broken heart I still have to this
day Due to my past! No one will ever understand the pain and regret I have inside
due to my past...things that will haunt me until the day I die! Yeah, that ole cliché
is so true: The grass is not always greener on the other side".
"I truly hope that my book connects with each and every one of you in an inspiring
way. Looking back now, I can truly say that I lived an amazing life; it's the kind of
life story that needs to be shared! If my story can help one person, then writing,
'The Next Level: A Game I Had To Play!' was worth it!"
- Excerpts -
First Quarter
I grew up back in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn. I remember living in my grandmother’s house with a crap load of cousins. My nana’s house was never empty and that is no exaggeration. It started off with me and my brother Jemal. If you know anything about Bedford Stuyvesant in the 1970’s, you would know it wasn’t an ideal place to live. Looking back now, I think that ‘Bed-Stuy’ got a bad rap for being such a bad area. Unfortunately, anytime you have an area that’s predominately black (African American) and is economically challenged, it is likely tagged and labeled as a ‘bad and unsafe’ area. Like any other place, if you mind your own business and didn’t start any trouble, life was good. If you looked for trouble, if you messed with someone or their family member, then “consequences” were gift wrapped and personally hand delivered to you. Well for me, that’s where our home was and that’s all we knew at the time. So that made it .....
Second Quarter
I remember when I was about 7 years old; my mom came home and told me that we were leaving Brooklyn. I asked her where were we going and she said “Staten Island”. At the time, I didn’t know where the hell Staten Island was; all I knew was that it sound extremely far from Brooklyn! I overheard my cousins talking about Staten Island and they said that it had a lot of white people there and very little blacks. I can recall my cousins pulling me aside and telling me to be careful out there and to look after my little brother. You talk about someone being scared; I was about to be stripped away from the only home I knew. I was about to be taken away from the person that actually raised me, my grandmother. I was TERRIFIED....
Third Quarter
I fell in love with the game of football at the age of 11; with the help of Chicago Bears running back Walter ‘Sweetness’ Payton, the sport became my best friend. I was pretty good at every sport I played... but football became more than a sport for me, I was able to let out so much pain and frustration due to the issues at home. For whatever amount of time I got to play, I was able to turn into someone else. I was free from my problems. For that brief moment of playing football, I didn’t have a worry in the world! I remember not being able to sleep without having a football under my arm! Starting from the age of 10, I was constantly reminded of my stature (lack there of). I recall my very first day at camp my freshmen year of high school; all the players had to weigh-in. No one had to tell me what my dimensions were; I knew it all too well!! (5’6” 98lbs). I was extremely paranoid about my size; I was so afraid of getting cut from the team due to my lack of size, I tied weights around my waist and tucked them in my sweat pants so it would appear that I was heavier than I actually was....
Fourth Quarter
Both of my parents had passed before my fifth week in college. I remember receiving a phone call from my aunt mid-way thru my senior year; she was staying at my house (caring for my siblings) while I was attending college. My aunt informed me that she could not care for my brothers and sisters any longer and they would have to be split apart to live with different family members. I recall standing up when I took the call; my knees literally buckled when she gave me the news. I immediately went into panic mode because of the conversation I had with my mom before she died. I had to make a life-changing decision. I ‘had’ to turn to the sport I fell in love with at age 10. I turned to football to save my family....
I grew up back in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn. I remember living in my grandmother’s house with a crap load of cousins. My nana’s house was never empty and that is no exaggeration. It started off with me and my brother Jemal. If you know anything about Bedford Stuyvesant in the 1970’s, you would know it wasn’t an ideal place to live. Looking back now, I think that ‘Bed-Stuy’ got a bad rap for being such a bad area. Unfortunately, anytime you have an area that’s predominately black (African American) and is economically challenged, it is likely tagged and labeled as a ‘bad and unsafe’ area. Like any other place, if you mind your own business and didn’t start any trouble, life was good. If you looked for trouble, if you messed with someone or their family member, then “consequences” were gift wrapped and personally hand delivered to you. Well for me, that’s where our home was and that’s all we knew at the time. So that made it .....
Second Quarter
I remember when I was about 7 years old; my mom came home and told me that we were leaving Brooklyn. I asked her where were we going and she said “Staten Island”. At the time, I didn’t know where the hell Staten Island was; all I knew was that it sound extremely far from Brooklyn! I overheard my cousins talking about Staten Island and they said that it had a lot of white people there and very little blacks. I can recall my cousins pulling me aside and telling me to be careful out there and to look after my little brother. You talk about someone being scared; I was about to be stripped away from the only home I knew. I was about to be taken away from the person that actually raised me, my grandmother. I was TERRIFIED....
Third Quarter
I fell in love with the game of football at the age of 11; with the help of Chicago Bears running back Walter ‘Sweetness’ Payton, the sport became my best friend. I was pretty good at every sport I played... but football became more than a sport for me, I was able to let out so much pain and frustration due to the issues at home. For whatever amount of time I got to play, I was able to turn into someone else. I was free from my problems. For that brief moment of playing football, I didn’t have a worry in the world! I remember not being able to sleep without having a football under my arm! Starting from the age of 10, I was constantly reminded of my stature (lack there of). I recall my very first day at camp my freshmen year of high school; all the players had to weigh-in. No one had to tell me what my dimensions were; I knew it all too well!! (5’6” 98lbs). I was extremely paranoid about my size; I was so afraid of getting cut from the team due to my lack of size, I tied weights around my waist and tucked them in my sweat pants so it would appear that I was heavier than I actually was....
Fourth Quarter
Both of my parents had passed before my fifth week in college. I remember receiving a phone call from my aunt mid-way thru my senior year; she was staying at my house (caring for my siblings) while I was attending college. My aunt informed me that she could not care for my brothers and sisters any longer and they would have to be split apart to live with different family members. I recall standing up when I took the call; my knees literally buckled when she gave me the news. I immediately went into panic mode because of the conversation I had with my mom before she died. I had to make a life-changing decision. I ‘had’ to turn to the sport I fell in love with at age 10. I turned to football to save my family....