Why the ‘J’ in Barry J. Sanders does not stand for junior
Kyle Fredrickson
STILLWATER — Aletha House was still pregnant with her first child, a boy, when she picked out a name.
It was 1994, the same year the boy’s father was named the NFL’s most outstanding offensive player, and her choice reflected a legacy reborn. A second Barry Sanders was welcomed into the world that April.
But not a Barry Sanders Jr.
It was the boy’s grandmother in Wichita who helped make the distinction. She suggested a middle name instead. One that honored Aletha’s father. So it was decided: Barry James Sanders.
More than 20 years later, House says, “I don’t think he ever wanted to be a junior.”
A note of critical importance, considering what lies ahead this fall in Stillwater.
Comparisons to his famous father, unfair as they might be, were inevitable the moment Barry J. Sanders joined the Oklahoma State football program as a Stanford graduate transfer. The similarities in appearance are striking. Same could be said about running styles. And now, a shared alma mater.
However, the bonds of father and son reach only so far. Sanders, raised from birth by his mother in Oklahoma City, has an identity uniquely his own.
OSU coach Mike Gundy made that much clear, although ironically, when asked to compare the two: “Junior is nothing like his dad.”
The Sanders that Gundy played alongside was well known for a quiet and unassuming demeanor. Mark McCormick, a childhood friend who co-penned a Sanders biography, wrote he was “very uncomfortable with the spotlight.” Legendary sportswriter Mitch Albom was a first-hand witness, reportedly trailing Sanders into a parking lot once after a dazzling performance with the Detroit Lions after he sidestepped reporters in the locker room. “You guys wanted to talk to me?” Sanders asked.
“As a player, he practiced and went to school and went to his room,” Gundy recalled. “That’s just the way it was.”
A far cry from Barry J. Sanders’ reputation.
Unlike his father, a relative unknown before arriving at OSU, Sanders could hardly avoid the media spotlight since his ninth grade year at Heritage Hall. College scouts and reporters were regulars on the practice field through a high school career with more than 5,000 yards rushing and 70 touchdowns.
“Barry has never met a stranger,” said Andy Bogert, Sanders’ high school coach. “He’s an outgoing kid who could carry on a conversation with anyone. Knowing his dad, it’s like the polar opposite.”
When Sanders arrived on Stanford’s campus in 2012, he set forward on an economics major. His mother says he was always gifted with numbers. But as he grew into an adult, Sanders developed other passions and changed his degree plan to communications. Should a long-term football career not be in Sanders’ future, he’s even considered a profession in the media.
“He felt like his personality could take him a little bit further,” House said.
Here’s one common denominator shared between father and son: Both are unlikely to talk with reporters this fall.
Barry J. Sanders spoke with reporters across the country up through the summer, but like every firstyear player at OSU, he will not be made available for interviews during the regular season per team rules established by Gundy. The Oklahoman reached out to Barry Sanders’ agent, J.B. Bernstein, for an interview request regarding his son and this story. “Thanks for the inquiry,” Bernstein replied, “but Barry is not doing any media right now.”
Back in Stillwater, the football coaching staff has little concern for the outside hoopla surrounding Sanders’ arrival. Although running backs coach Marcus Arroyo certainly respects Sanders’ ability to handle the pressure of following in his dad’s footsteps.
“Barry had to live through this,” Arroyo said. “I mean, how many times has he had to answer questions about his dad’s legacy at Oklahoma State, or the Detroit Lions or the NFL Hall of Fame? What if he had a few more games? Why did he retire? It’s probably nauseating. I think he respected the fact that I wanted to talk to him for Barry J. and see if me and him fit. See if he fit here.”
When Sanders runs through the tunnel at Boone Pickens Stadium for the first time Sept. 3 against Southeastern Louisiana, his focus will be far from his father’s records at OSU. He chose the Cowboys to compete for a starting role he never found at Stanford. But there is no escaping his legacy, no matter the differences he shares with a man of almost the same name.
“I love the comparisons,” Sanders told The Oklahoman in February. “I like to think of it as, ‘I want to be as good as that great player.’ It just so happens the best is my father.”