John Wooden is a Constant Truth (ESPN Los Angeles)

There’s little one can add to a personal resume like that of John Wooden. He coached long before I was old enough to appreciate even the shape of a basketball but I can’t remember not knowing the name “Wooden”. Interestingly enough, I know him for the fortitude it must have taken to champion absolute truth in an ever increasing morally relativistic world.  Randomly, let’s say we attempt to discuss things like one spouse of a different gender for a lifetime, firm discipline of children even if it means subjecting them to the law’s consequences or giving money when you yourself are hand-to-mouth. Our world is not even tolerant of such a conversation let alone willing to adhere to what is perceived as close-minded, prudish ethics.

But what I like about John Wooden is that for the little I know about him, the most noteworthy aspect of his legacy is unwavering commitment to God’s truth. Which God? You figure it out. I think people respect Wooden for his unrivaled run as UCLA basketball coach and his freakishly admirable sense of loyalty and love. But what people refuse to acknowledge is that he actually isn’t a phenomenon, at least he shouldn’t be. They say in the video that he hasn’t used a curse word since age 14 or something on that order. I can’t say the same for myself. But whether it’s drinking, using profanity, promiscuity, etc.  it’s as if the world has always looked for ways to sanction behavior that is inconsistent with truth. Wooden makes no apologies for who he’s become at age 99 and no one would dare publicly indict him. He’s not the Wizard of Westwood, more like the patron saint of basketball.

With that in mind however, you and I aren’t Wooden in the eyes of the public. Take the sports world for instance. I walk into a meeting with my 6ixth Man t-shirt on singing my siren song of the  self-reflective character development model and I’m risking humiliation. They have no reason to honor my legacy. I don’t have 10 National Championships, I’m only 34 and I haven’t earned a University millions of dollars. But the message I (you) bear, the commitment to truth and the willingness to mentor from a perspective that absolute truth should remain our focus requires our ambassadorship. John Wooden is neither afraid to die nor afraid of the winds of change. He’s one fading symbol reminding us that Truth is always en vogue and always the benchmark.