Holyfield Champions Programs To Assist Fatherless Children

Boxing champion Evander Holyfield urged members of Congress on Thursday to support government and private efforts to help children overcome problems associated with the absence of fathers.

Holyfield’s appearance before a House subcommittee came as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted down funds for literacy, job training and after-school programs designed to reduce juvenile crime.

Holyfield recalled his own fatherless childhood in Atlanta as he touted education, religious faith and government assistance to help fatherless children.

“In the neighborhood that I grew up in, the biggest thing to be at that time was to be a player, a pimp,” he said as he promoted public and private programs to teach proper values.

He cited the need for programs that would help boys and younger men control their aggressiveness, like those featured in his public appearances through his own foundation.

Holyfield credited Carter Morgan, his Boys Club boxing coach, for giving him “the faith, determination and perseverance that helped make the boy into the man and father I am today.”

Holyfield’s appearance Thursday was arranged by the Congressional Fatherhood Promotion Task Force, recently created by Reps. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa., and Jim Turner, D-Texas.

Holyfield was accompanied by his wife, Dr. Janice Holyfield, who emphasized the importance of education and religious training to children.