SPORTS
BY KILLIAN DOHERTY
SHARING SOCCER WITH SOCIETY’S STIGMATIZED
Volunteer players share the field with inmates at Oregon State Penitentiary
D
on’t get me wrong: I absolutely love my usual
leisurely pick-up soccer on late Saturday morn-
ings, just a five-minute bike ride from my house
in Eugene. But there’s something special, some-
thing exciting and edifying, about getting up
early on a Saturday to play soccer with inmates at Oregon’s
maximum security prison in Salem.
Rightly or wrongly convicted? Viciously or virtuously
prosecuted? Powerfully or poorly defended? Malice or
misfortune or some murky mixture of misconduct and
misunderstanding? Many questions could — and in appro-
priate circumstances should — be asked of my friendly
opponents.
However, during limited days of leisure, I prefer to play
and to let them play, to make them happy and to make me
hopeful that humanity might be a hair more humane when
we treat prisoners as humans, who have rights regardless
of wrongdoings, feelings as well as fallibilities.
Maybe the inmates who one day embark upon the chal-
lenging journey of reintegrating into a society that stigma-
tizes them will be encouraged by the warmth of strangers
who spend Saturdays sharing soccer and breaking bread
behind concrete prison walls.
After playing in a couple soccer tournaments at the
Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) two years ago (tourna-
ments were canceled last year for disciplinary reasons), I
interviewed some of the inmates and wrote about the value
of these visitor-inmate soccer sprees, which generally con-
sist of about three hours of competitive but cordial play per
day (see “A Mental Escape” 11/12/2015).
This year I thought it might be interesting to interview
some of the non-inmates who volunteer to wake up before
dawn, travel to Salem and dedicate most of their Saturday
to playing with strangers marginalized by our society.
Derek French (along with John Crowder of Oregon
Prison Ministries) is largely responsible for facilitating
these soccer tournaments between outsiders and inmates.
He recalls his first prison soccer experience: “The first
time I entered the ‘yard’ to play soccer, dozens of inmates
were talking on payphones, running laps, lifting weights or
getting ready to play soccer. I started the day nervous and
left with newfound relationships.”
French says that since that day three years ago, he’s run
a half marathon in prison, sung with inmates, played chess
and helped bring guest speakers to their monthly Athletic
Club meeting.
“I go to listen, share life stories, talk about sports and
be reminded of the real lives that hopefully we can make
better,” he says, adding that he’s thankful he’s been able to
share these experiences with his two sons.
His son, Daniel French, says that in addition to the
great experience of meeting the inmates and seeing what
daily life is like for them, “they’re also some of the best
soccer players I’ve played against.”
Andy Zuñiga, who has played at OSP several times and
used to play professionally in Costa Rica, shares his motives
for coming to play soccer at OSP: “I like to see the happi-
ness on the inmates’ faces. I want them to have good feel-
ings toward unknown outsiders, and I hope the ones who get
out will want to help strangers too when they are out.”
Zuñiga likes to invite different guys to play in the
prison because he hopes the experience might provide
them some insight to share with children and others who
may be at risk of such a horrific fate.
Bernie Donner, a father of three in Cottage Grove, trav-
els the furthest to meet the rest of us in Eugene before we
all depart at 6 am from Gateway in Springfield. “I’m so
thankful because I know I could be in there. Lots of people
make bad choices, but some have worse luck than others,”
he says. “Everyone should experience prison to get some
perspective.”
‘Albeit in a limited manner, these experiences provided me with an
opportunity to put a face to people I’ve only known about as a statistic or a
sound bite in the news, or maybe a footnote in a casebook. My interactions
with the prisoners left me wondering: Where did it go wrong? What could have
happened? Are there any mistakes in the system?’
– Fon Akenji, law student
For Javier Sota, who recently came to Eugene from
Spain to teach at the Buena Vista Spanish Immersion
Elementary School, the experience was something he’d
never imagined. He was surprised when Zuñiga asked him
to go, but he accepted for two reasons: “First, I knew it
would be a totally new experience for me, without many
expectations, and I knew Andy had gone many times so I
figured it would be safe. Second, because I wanted to help
the prisoners. Imagining myself in their shoes — I would
appreciate people coming to play and spend time with
me.”
Sota then added, chuckling: “I guess there’s a third
reason: I love soccer, even though I’m not that good.”
He concluded, more seriously, that while the prisoners
were obviously very grateful, he feels like he received
more than he gave, and says it was definitely worth the
effort to wake up at 5 am to get there.
Fon Akenji, a UO law student and crafty soccer player
from Cameroon says, “These experiences provided me
with an opportunity to put a face to people I’ve only
LivingLove Superfoods
FORMULATED BY A
NUTRITIONAL THERAPIST
(541) 972-3262
known about as a statistic or a sound bite in the news, or
maybe a footnote in a casebook. My interactions with the
prisoners left me wondering: Where did it go wrong? What
could have happened? Are there any mistakes in the sys-
tem?”
These prison soccer experiences also convinced Akenji
that soccer can produce joy even in the most adverse cir-
cumstances: “The effort shown by the players, the smiles
on their faces and their excitement for the next tournament
illustrate this amazing quality of the world’s game.”
“Last but not least,” Akenji adds, “the inmates can
ball!”
Abraham Rincon, a competitive player from Mexico
and a technology support specialist with the Eugene
School District, says, “I was a troubled youth during my
early teens and I could have ended up like one of those
players in prison. The inmates were all very thankful for
our visit and taking the time to travel to Salem just to play
soccer with them.”
SMALL BATCHES
ARTISINALLY MADE IN EUGENE
Rincon says, “I would challenge any good local players
to come with us to play in prison. It’s difficult to describe;
you really have to go and experience it.”
As most of my teammates remark, seeing the smiles on
the inmates’ faces makes it clear how much it means to
them to play with outsiders.
This reminds me of a scene from the 1994 film The
Shawshank Redemption, when the prisoners get to enjoy
some cold beers after tarring a roof in exchange for the
protagonist Andy’s (Tim Robbins) offer to help one of the
guards with tax evasion. As Red (Morgan Freeman)
described it, the prisoners “sat and drank with the sun on
[their] shoulders and felt like free men — hell, [they] could
have been tarring the roof of one of [their] own houses.”
Hell, the inmates seem so happy playing with us outsid-
ers, perhaps for a short while they too feel like free men
who could have been running around and kicking a ball in
a public park.
If you’re interested in playing soccer with inmates at OSP, contact Derek
French at dfrench@pacinfo.com.
Cottage Theatre presents
December 1-23
A curious cavalcade of charismatic creatures
REVITALIZE
Your
HEALTH
cal
Best Lo in
Prote !
r
Powde
www.LivingLoveSuperfoods.com
FIND OUR SUPERFOOD PROTEIN POWDERS AT URBAN THERAPEUTIC,
OREGON'S CONSTANT GARDENER, & SUNDANCE NATURAL FOODS
22
November 22, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
TM
Music by Stephen Flaherty • Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens • Book by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty
Co-Conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, & Eric Idle • Based on the Works of Dr. Seuss
Directed by Keith Kessler • $25 Adult, $15 Youth (6-18)
Sponsored by
700 Village Drive · Cottage Grove · www.cottagetheatre.org · 541-942-8001