Nick Saban got fired up. It was December 2014. A reporter asked about defensive lineman D.J. Pettway: “How gratifying is it to you to see him make the most of his second chance?” Saban launched into a speech every human needs to hear. (Pettway, who was dismissed from Alabama a year prior, returned to the program and earned his degree.) Here’s Saban on Second Chances: “There’s always a lot of criticism out there when somebody does something wrong. Everybody wants to know, how are you gonna punish the guy? “But there’s not enough, for 19 and 20 year old kids, people out there saying, why don’t you give them another chance. “Guy makes a mistake. Where do you want him to be? Want him to be in the street? Or do you want him to be here graduating? “Muhsin Muhammad played for me at Michigan State. Everybody in the school, every newspaper guy, everybody was killing the guy because he got in trouble and said there’s no way he should be on our team. I didn’t kick him off the team. I suspended him, I made him do stuff. “He graduated from Michigan State. He played 15 years in the league. He’s the president of a company now. He has 7 children, and his oldest daughter goes to Princeton. So, who was right? “I feel strong about this now. About all the criticism out there of every guy that’s 19 years old that makes a mistake and you all kill him. And then some people won’t stand up for him. “So my question to you is, where do you want him to be? “You want to condemn him to a life sentence? Or do you want the guy to have his children going to Princeton?” – It’s an important message in a world filled with hate. My takeaways: 1. Everyone makes mistakes. We just forget our own. 2. We tend to judge others who mess up. The better response is compassion. 3. Mistakes are teaching moments, first and foremost. Don’t waste that opportunity. 4. One mistake doesn’t (necessarily) make someone a bad person. Most people have the potential to learn, move on and do better. 5. That said, mistakes require accountability and carry consequences. You have to own them. 6. Second chances don’t guarantee third chances. 7. If you want to feel self-righteous, condemn someone. If you want to actually make a difference, love them. 8. The world needs more loving discipline. ||| Hope this is helpful. Follow me @TMitrosilis for more writing. I’ll share more from Saban in my weekly newsletter → theprocess.news/subscribe