Photo: Steve McNair and wife Mechelle, on wedding day, 1997
The Gantt Report
By Lucius Gantt
The Gantt Report would like to send condolences to the wife, children and family members of slain former pro quarterback Steve “Air McNair” McNair.
I’m going to let the other editorial columnists parrot what they read about the tragedy in white newspapers or saw on white broadcast sports shows but I want to talk this week about Black family unity and what can happen if family values get distorted.
The Bible says you should love God and love your neighbors and I say you should also love your family.
When you love your spouse and your children you should put your family first.
We all have friends, partners and associates that we adore but love for friends is different from love for spouse and family.
A married person should put their spouse first! A friend, even a girl friend or boy friend, should never be considered on the same level as a spouse.
If you have one, you can’t buy your “special” friend the same things you buy that you buy your spouse, you can’t take your friends the same places that you take your spouse and you should never engage in intimate conversations with anyone other than the person you made commitments or vows to.
There are a lot of different relationship levels. There are friends, close friends, friends with benefits, finances and, the best friends in the world, spouses.
Whenever a Black person puts someone of the opposite sex first and that person puts them second, third or fourth, there’s bound to be trouble.
No, a married person should not expect their mate to be perfect but they should expect the people that they love and marry to be the very best that they can be.
If men and women in relationships would just be honest with each other, most of the drama, hurt and bad feelings in relationships would disappear. If you want to hang out with, spend money on or even have sex with someone else just be man enough or woman enough to say it.
Personally, I have never met a cat, so to speak, that sprung me so bad that I would risk my family or risk my life just to be with the pussy.
If I’m with a woman, I’m with that woman until one of us decides that we shouldn’t be together any more. If my lady decides to run away from me for another guy I always tell her to keep walking and don’t look back!
If you feel that you must have variety in your life, there are countries and cultures where multiple spouses are acceptable. If you just like to get more than one cat there are places that you can go to play with a cat a while and then retreat back to the castle where your true queen resides.
A woman once told me that any curious dog will sometimes stray and roam but the smart dogs will always respect, take care of and return to their home!
Brothers and sisters, women, lovers and everyone else hate to be scorned. Be safe, put your spouse and family first and above all love and respect your wives and husbands.
