flgreen Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 NY Jets' Aaron Maybin turns to painting, poetry to deal with tragedies he's seen, including death of his son End Zone BY Manish Mehta NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Saturday, October 29 2011, 10:37 PM Nick Laham/Getty Images Aaron Maybin celebrates a sack with the Jets. Before this season, the former first-round pick hasn't had much to celebrate on the field... or off it. Photo courtesy of Maybin familiy Maybin's self portrait 'They Said' features the linebacker letting out a primal scream amid all of the criticisms he's heard. Photo courtesy of the Maybin family Maybin embraces his daughter Tacori, who helps him cope with the loss of her twin brother, David. Howard Simmons/News The self-portrait hangs in a Baltimore condominium, a blend of sharp and faded colors that reveal the artist’s pain. The man on the canvas is crying behind a smiling mask. His eyes are closed. Footprints of his dead son are in the upper right hand corner. “There were a lot of things I was struggling with while I was painting that,” Aaron Maybin says in a quiet moment. He titled the piece “David’s Tears” to pay tribute to the son he never knew, the baby who was stillborn two summers ago. “I’m still not over it,” says Maybin. “When you lose a child, there’s not really anything that can explain how that feels.” Long before Maybin started to piece together his derailed career as the Jets’ relentless outside linebacker, he turned to painting, drawing and writing poetry to push through the tragedies in his life. When his mother, Connie, died due to complications giving birth to his sister, 6-year-old Aaron turned to the arts to escape. Michael Maybin bought reams of paper in bulk from a local warehouse in Baltimore to help settle down his rambunctious son. The arts helped his little boy focus . When an idea exploded in his mind, he rushed for his crayons, pens, pastels or brushes. He bent pieces of aluminum foil into shapes of animals. When Michael remarried, his wife Violette, an artist, sat down with her stepson and cut out pictures to create a collage of Aaron and Connie. “Whenever he felt sad or down,” Violette says, “he could always look at those pictures and remember happy times.” For as long as he can remember, Maybin wanted to play in the NFL, but the arts provided another outlet. He won a competition at age 11 that allowed him to paint a 40 x 50 mural on the side of a Habitat for Humanity building in downtown Baltimore. He found inspiration in his successes and struggles. He used oil paints, acrylics and pastels. Art gave him direction when the football world labeled him a failure. Maybin, a first-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2009 draft (No. 11), spent his offseason nights in his Baltimore condo pouring his emotions onto a canvas or a notepad. “He would sit in a room and draw and not say a word,” says Bills defensive lineman Kellen Heard, who lived with Maybin for a few months last year. A paint brush and pen helped him cope with the conflicting emotions surrounding the birth of his daughter, Tacori, and the death of her twin brother, David, last year. He learned through art, his first love, to find his way as his parents, both pastors, prayed for him. He placed his fate in his Christian faith. “It was a test to see if I was going to give up or not,” Maybin, 23, says. “I’m still swinging. I’m still fighting. I’m still here.” * * * A slip of the tongue spawned a phenomenon in Happy Valley. When Penn State coach Joe Paterno inadvertently called his defensive end “Mayhem” at practice, the legend was born. Students packed Beaver Stadium in State College with signs that read “Maybin’s Mayhem.” There was a buzz up and down College Avenue on fall Saturday afternoons. “He had a chip on his shoulder, because he was undersized and came from a small school,” says Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson. “Here he was at a big program. People wondered, ‘Can he survive?’ He did more than survive.” After redshirting as a freshman and playing sparingly as a sophomore, Maybin came alive as a 4-3 defensive end when one of Penn State’s starters was suspended in 2008. It turned out to be an opportunity of a lifetime. Maybin finished with 12 sacks and 20 tackles for losses in 10 starts en route to earning All-America honors. Michael, who attended Penn State and bled blue and white, was beaming. His son, a double major in communications and integrative arts, had positioned himself for a future in the NFL and decided to enter the draft after his junior year. “It was a special season,” Johnson says. “It really was magical.” The Bills scouts seemingly brushed off Maybin’s 6-4, 230-pound frame - he bulked up to 250 pounds before the draft - and targeted him with the No. 11 pick. A few months after Buffalo drafted him, Maybin signed a five-year, $25 million contract with $14 million guaranteed. The Bills hoped Maybin would breath life into an anemic pass rush. At the press conference announcing his signing, Maybin unveiled a new haircut with two numbers carved into his right side: His No. 58, along with Bills legend Bruce Smith’s No. 78. On the left side was the team’s running buffalo logo. Maybin’s Mayhem was about to take over Western New York. Only something went terribly wrong. * * * “It’s quite possible that Maybin is the worst player in the NFL.” - Buffalo News, Oct. 28, 2010 Nothing made sense. A year after Maybin was a college phenom, he became an NFL afterthought. The Bills’ defensive end didn’t record a sack in 16 games as a rookie, fueling mounting negativity from fans. Although Maybin’s work ethic was never questioned, the prevailing thought in Buffalo was that he was simply too undersized to play his position. A front office and coaching change during his rookie season exacerbated the situation. His professional struggles faded to the background when personal tragedy struck in July 2010. His girlfriend at the time delivered twins, but the boy, David, didn’t survive. “There’s been so many experiences that we’ve had to go through,” Michael Maybin says. “I can’t tell you how we got up the next day and kept on living. I know that there was a lot of prayer.” The baby daughter, Tacori, changed her father forever. Violette saw a newfound maturity from her son that bubbled to the surface. Suddenly, the football player was worried about things like his daughter’s toothache. The baby girl resembled her father in every way. She helped prioritize his life. She grounded him and eased the pain of David’s death. She helped turn Aaron Maybin into a different man. “I went through some tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough times,” Maybin says. “But one of the things that I learned from that - especially when I lost my son - is that no matter what’s going on in life, no matter who wrote something bad about you, who’s not satisfied, none of that matters in the grand scheme of things. When I come home, my daughter doesn’t know any of that. She hasn’t read any of those articles. She hasn’t listened to anybody say anything negative. She hasn’t watched me play. All she cares about is that Daddy’s home. She’s got the most elated look on her face. “She’s just the best thing in my life,” he adds softy. “The best thing I’ve done with my life is my daughter.” Tacori’s arrival helped soften Maybin’s growing frustrations during his second season in Buffalo. He was marginalized by a new coaching staff that didn’t draft him and didn’t believe in him. The final indignity came during a five-week stretch when the Bills deactivated him. “They didn’t even use him,” says former Pro Bowler and fellow Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington, who has been Maybin’s mentor through the years. “People got so much into his size and his weight. They forgot that this is the same guy that was running around those same bigger guys in college. Let the man get out there and find his way. If he gets his a$$ kicked and he can’t do it, then you throw him out.” Maybin’s art helped him deal with his frustration. He sketched an image of himself letting out a primal scream entitled “They Said” decorated with all the words that trailed him in Buffalo: SELF CENTERED. CRAZY. JUST GIVE UP. WASTE. JERK. BUST. LOOSE CANNON. DUMB. WEAK. BUM. WORST in NFL. The avalanche of criticism fueled him. The doubters inspired him. “It was a frustrating experience, because I had high expectations of myself,” Maybin says. “I wasn’t receiving return on all the work that was being put in. There was something that they weren’t seeing that they felt that they needed to see. That’s not something that I waste any time trying to figure out now. Whatever it was, I left that in Buffalo.” Heard cried when the Bills released Maybin on Aug. 15. He finished his career in Buffalo with 24 tackles in 27 career games. Maybin never started or registered a sack. It was time to go. “It was a bittersweet moment,” his agent and close friend Chafie Fields says. “He was upset for about five minutes.” The Bills never wavered from their belief that he was too small. “Somebody said that he didn’t fit the scheme,” Bills general manager Buddy Nix said after cutting Maybin. “But I don’t know what scheme he fits at that size.” A man who had seen Maybin as a teenager in Baltimore years earlier disagreed. The cell phone went unanswered for hours. On a late September morning, Fields was desperately trying to reach Maybin. Two days after the Bills released Maybin, Rex Ryan scooped up the kid that starred at Mount Hebron High School, a stone’s throw away from the coach’s home in Ellicott City, Md. Ryan was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator then. Ryan’s oldest son, Payton, went to the same school. Maybin recorded 1½ sacks in two preseason games with the Jets, but he was waived on Sept. 4, one day after surviving final cuts. Maybin worked out for the Tennessee Titans later in the month, but he was still unemployed. Now, Fields couldn’t find him. Where did Aaron go? More than three weeks had passed since the Jets cut him. His career was in limbo. As Maybin sat at the bedside of a dying woman, he didn’t care about any of that. Dolores Maybin had fought off the cancer for as long as she could. In the final years of her life, Michael Maybin’s older sister had grown especially close to her nephew. She traveled in the family RV to watch Aaron play at Penn State. She was an exceptional cook that made chicken on game days. She brought sliced oranges, too. When Maybin’s weight issues became the focal point in Buffalo, she made sure that he was well fed in the offseason, cooking meals for him at his condo in Baltimore. She kept his place immaculate. When time was running out, when the leukemia had taken hold of his aunt’s 53-year-old body, Aaron Maybin prayed. He pulled out his BlackBerry from time to time to look at the last text message his aunt ever sent him, telling him how proud she was that the Jets had signed him in August. She always believed in him. He cried when she died that morning at 11:30 . A few hours later, Fields finally reached him. Ryan wanted him back. He was a Jet again. The co-pastors at the Kingdom Seekers Family Work Center, a Pentecostal church in tiny Bluffton, S.C., say a prayer for the Jets every Sunday morning. When Maybin signed his first NFL contract, his father, a member of the Baltimore fire department for 20 years, and mother were able to retire. Aaron bought them a house in South Carolina as they pursued their calling to the ministry. “My son sounds so much happier,” Violette Maybin says. “And I’m happy for him.” Maybin stayed balanced despite his professional and personal struggles. He opened the Project Mayhem foundation, a nonprofit in Baltimore to help underprivileged and at-risk children find their way. He started a youth football team — “Team Shutdown” — with former NFL player and Baltimore native Keion Carpenter, which will become a charter school in the next two years. “To judge a man on if he can run fast and tackle, that’s all fine and good,” Arrington says. “But to judge a man based upon the content of his character is what matters. Aaron is just a phenomenal person.” Maybin finds inspiration around him every day. Sometimes he doesn’t have to look very far. In January, he started writing a children’s book entitled “Know That You Can” that will be published when he finishes the accompanying illustrations. It’s a story about a boy named Michael in the inner city who dreams of becoming a basketball player. He’s a rambunctious kid, a class clown. He has plenty of friends. Most of the time, he can’t sit still. One day, his teacher asks him what he wants to do with his life. “I want to play in the NBA," the boy says without hesitation. The boy realizes that college is the first step toward achieving his dream. He soon learns that maybe he can become President of the United States. Maybe there is life beyond the NBA. Maybe he can impact people through other channels. Maybe something bigger awaits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Awesome. Love reading this type of stuff. I have a new found respect for this kid and I'm a big fan. Hope this guy goes off vs. his former team. Maybe Maybin just had a lack of focus entering the league having to deal with so many personal issues? And now that he's come to grips and unfortunately lost his son and Aunt, its all about Football hence the success he's already had with the Jets. Either way, awesome article, great kid. I hope he has a long career with the Jets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 I've got to give some credit to Mehta for writing this long article on what a lot of scribes are looking at as a week off.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I've got to give some credit to Mehta for writing this long article on what a lot of scribes are looking at as a week off.. Agreed. It makes you wonder. How many great stories like this one are out there to be told but the media isnt bold enough to write something in this light? Its a shame stories like this arent front page worthy but smoking crack and beating wives are. Its sad, I'm sure many others players have had to deal with such adversity but we'll never read about it. I had no clue this kid was going through so much over the past years. Kind of makes sense that Football might not have been his priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity28 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I've got to give some credit to Mehta for writing this long article on what a lot of scribes are looking at as a week off.. Mehta has been a breathe of fresh air since day one on the Jets beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green DNA Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Mehta has been a breathe of fresh air since day one on the Jets beat. Magnified by the fact that he followed that toolbag Cimini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 After buying 2 Robertson Jerseys, I swore I would never buy another players jersey. If this kid plays well enough to earn a contract, I can't wait to buy my "Mayhem" jersey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightCash Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Great read.... Here's to hoping that Maybin was just that kind of player that needed to turn the switch on in his head, and what he has done so far this season isn't a fluke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Great read.... Here's to hoping that Maybin was just that kind of player that needed to turn the switch on in his head, and what he has done so far this season isn't a fluke. I also enjoyed the read. I think Maybin is just a nice fit here on the Jets. He's getting coverage sacks due to his high motor and speed. He's taken right out of the play, but the Jets secondary covers the receivers long enough for him to get back in it. It's actually benefiting him that he's running up behind QB's and stripping the ball. I'd like to see them scheme to get him right up the middle, but he's been fun to watch. His success here is like the final nail in the coffin on Gholston, too. If he had any heart/ability he should've been able to make the same plays Maybin's making now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 I also enjoyed the read. I think Maybin is just a nice fit here on the Jets. He's getting coverage sacks due to his high motor and speed. He's taken right out of the play, but the Jets secondary covers the receivers long enough for him to get back in it. It's actually benefiting him that he's running up behind QB's and stripping the ball. I'd like to see them scheme to get him right up the middle, but he's been fun to watch. His success here is like the final nail in the coffin on Gholston, too. If he had any heart/ability he should've been able to make the same plays Maybin's making now. Agree with all of it It helps the CB's to. If they give him a little time, he'll get there, and they won't have to hold their man forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 After buying 2 Robertson Jerseys, I swore I would never buy another players jersey. If this kid plays well enough to earn a contract, I can't wait to buy my "Mayhem" jersey I would love nothing more to have found the solution to our pass rush in this kid. Especially after reading this story. Type of kid that you want to see succeed.. And if he does get a contract, Mayhem would be a dope jersey - and thats coming from someone who doesnt wear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt39 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Gholston was useless as a football player. We can talk abotu heart/motor all you want...Gholston wasn't an NFL player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE ILK Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 It's crazy, he made my Vilma jersey relevant again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 It's crazy, he made my Vilma jersey relevant again. Duck tape, and Magic marker "MAYHEM" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottsMissingFingerTip Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Great read. I am a first time father of a 6 month old baby girl and personally, I can't even imagine having to go thru that. I would drop 20-30 lbs too. I am a Jets fan and I don't use the word to often when it comes to players, but I hope I can grow to become a fan of Aaron Maybin. Sounds like a solid kid that's due some great karma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottsMissingFingerTip Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Duck tape, and Magic marker "MAYHEM" Hopefully he becomes legit and next year for Halloween this will be a great costume and I can put good use to a mint condition Vilma jersey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottsMissingFingerTip Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 ..........and not for nothing, but this makes me look at the Bills front office and staff in another light. Maybe a fresh start somewhere else is exactly what he needed. I could see how a little anomosity may effect your play if sympathy was void...or at least deemed so. No matter how relevant Buffalo may or may not become, mentioning Maybins 10-12 sacks a year would be case in point in most discussions! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYJets90 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Can not wait to see the reception he get Sunday as a captain in Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUM-KNEE Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Can not wait to see the reception he get Sunday as a captain in Buffalo. I cant wait to see him out on the field chasing Fitz around. Dudes gonna be friggin amped up for this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNJet Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Maybin, we got your back boy, just keep wreaking havoc on quarterbacks, "Mayhem." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 :It is a really nice article and makes me root even harder for the kid. I will say one thing, in the picture of him in the Jets t-shirt with the football he looks like a stick figure. 228 looks high for that picture. He looks like a very thin safety. FWIW, I think that the Bills were switching schemes and didn't have a place for a player that size. For the Jets he is a luxury and the Bills may not have had the luxury of that extra spot. Hell, the Jets didn't even have it to start the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNJet Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 :It is a really nice article and makes me root even harder for the kid. I will say one thing, in the picture of him in the Jets t-shirt with the football he looks like a stick figure. 228 looks high for that picture. He looks like a very thin safety. FWIW, I think that the Bills were switching schemes and didn't have a place for a player that size. For the Jets he is a luxury and the Bills may not have had the luxury of that extra spot. Hell, the Jets didn't even have it to start the season. Agreed....That said, I haven't seen our defense have a player with that type of speed off the edge since John Abe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard King Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Duck tape, and Magic marker "MAYHEM" Doing this! Saw this done for a Foley jersey back in the Favre days. Great idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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