October 21, 2018 | Football
by Logan Hanson
FightingIllini.com
When the Illini blocked a punt during the third quarter of the Western Illinois game, the ball seemed to be destined to bounce into Stanley Green's hands. Green picked up the ball and ran the two yards into the end zone to put the Illini up 24-7. It was Green's first college touchdown and it was a long time coming. The play was a symbolization of Green's life, difficult at the beginning, dependent on his own effort combined with the help of others and a euphoric moment with many more expected to arrive.
To say Stanley Green dealt with obstacles growing up would be an understatement. Stanley Jr. grew up in East New Orleans with his parents, Donielle and Stanley Sr., and his two sisters, older sister Sierra and younger sister Shana. Just weeks before his seventh birthday, Stanley Jr.'s life would change forever. On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating hurricanes in U.S. history, made landfall as a category 4 hurricane at Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana about 45 miles from New Orleans.
Before the Hurricane Katrina hit, Donielle and her children went with her parents to stay with a relative in Hammond, Louisiana. Stanley Sr. decided to stay back with the family's dogs and new litter of puppies.
"They did not want me to stay," said Stanley Sr. "I didn't think it would be as bad, I kind of thought I'd be out of power for a few days at most."
For Stanley Jr., he did not want to leave his home or his dad behind.
"I know the day before we were evacuating my father actually stayed at home he didn't think it would be that bad," said Stanley Jr. "Hurricane season happens every year down there so sometimes they say it's going to be bad and it doesn't end up being as bad as they say it is. I was really trying to beg my mom to stay (with my dad). I was like 'I want to stay'."
But Donielle overruled and she and the children left with their suitcases packed with two pairs of clothes. For Donielle, the hurricane prep was a typical occurrence and so she saw no need to pack a lot.
"I didn't take the kids anything but two pairs of clothes because I felt we were going to be right back because that's what always happened," said Donielle.
As the hurricane approached, Donielle asked her husband one last time to drive up and be with the family in Hammond. Once again Stanley Sr. stood his ground, a choice that he would later regret.
"A few hours before the hurricane actually hit, my wife was kind of begging me to jump in the car with the dogs and come. I didn't do that," said Stanley Sr. "But long story short, six or seven feet of water later after being on the roof of my house for two days, hindsight is 20/20."
When the hurricane hit land and the devastation began, the only thing on anyone's mind in Holland was Stanley Sr. The loss of electricity in the city and lack of phone service as a result of the hurricane left the family unable to communicate, which only added to the worry.
"We saw it on the television and the only thing we could think about, and I know Stanley Jr. took it the hardest because he was thinking about his dad who stayed back," said Donielle. "For a while we were just sitting back and I know it was devastation just knowing the house was under, but where's dad? Was he dead? Was he alive?"
For Stanley Jr. it was a painfully long time without knowing the fate of his father. One of the things that brought comfort to the family was prayer.
"For like a week, we didn't know if he was dead or alive, we didn't know what had happened so that was kind of hard for us," said Stanley Jr., "I remember as a little kid me, my mom and my two sisters just praying all night long. Just hoping he was ok and things like that, but it was a hard time."
Fortunately, Stanley Sr. was safe and had been brought to the New Orleans Convention Center where he stayed for three or four days. Meanwhile, Donielle and the kids moved on from Hammond, which was suffering its own power issues due to the hurricane, to Atlanta to stay with her brother Jetterson Phipps Jr.
"The thing was that we couldn't go to the store (in Hammond) because they had no power and because I only brought two pairs of clothes for the kids. That's all we had. That was it. That's why I came all the way to Atlanta because we couldn't get it in Hammond."
In Atlanta, the family still had not heard about the health of Stanley Sr. But about nine days after the hurricane, the family was surprised at a church event. The surprise was Stanley Sr. who had gotten into contact with Donielle's brother and was driven from the airport to the event from one of her relatives. It was a long awaited reunion and the emotions could not be held back.
"Definitely needed some tissues, you know what I mean?" said Stanley Sr. "It was a very joyous reunion."
With the family back together, the next step was to rebuild. The family had to live with Phipps for a month until they were finally able to go out on their own. The trouble was the family had very little.
"I had nothing. I had literally nothing. We lost everything," said Stanley Sr.
Donielle echoed the same feeling, "You see that the water is over your house. So you know you have nothing. We lost every single thing that we had. Everything."
Stanley Jr. recalls those times as being difficult. Specifically, he remembers the small apartment the family had to share and the sleeping arrangements that they had to endure.
"I remember we had a one bedroom apartment and my mom and dad slept on an air mattress in the living room for about two or three months," said Stanley Jr. "I slept on the floor in the one bedroom and my two sisters slept on the bed. As kids we didn't really realize what was going on. I felt like my parents did a good job just helping us live the best we could."
The troubles were more than just the place they were living. According to Stanley Sr. it was a daily struggle of calling many different agencies to figure out how they would move forward. Calls to Red Cross, FEMA, the car insurance agency and the home insurance agency happened often with many minutes being stuck on hold.
"You name it, we had to do everything," said Stanley Sr. "We met some wonderful people along the way who helped and who gave us donations and different things like that, but it was a day to day hassle."
There was one constant for Stanley Jr. and that was football. Football provided Stanley Jr. an escape during a time of hardship.
"When we moved to Atlanta, that's all I really had was football," said Stanley Jr. "Kept my mind off of things. I met some friends and stayed over at their house some days so I didn't have to go home and sleep on the floor."
Finally, through a long and arduous process, the family was able to climb their way up out of their adversity. The biggest moment came when Stanley Sr. was offered a teaching position in St. Louis and an opportunity to complete his Doctorate of Education (E.D.D.) at nearby Maryville University. After his sophomore year of high school, Stanley Jr. would join his father in St. Louis so he could improve his focus in the classroom as well as give him better opportunities with football.
Stanley Jr. was a standout at East St. Louis, making all-conference two times, becoming a three-star recruit by both ESPN.com, Rivals and Scout and being ranked the No. 71 safety recruit in the nation in his class by ESPN.com. This led Green to the University of Illinois where he earned playing time as true freshmen and has been playing ever since.
For Stanley Jr. it's a lifetime of hard work and dedication that he learned from his parents.
"I learned a lot from my dad," said Stanley Jr. "Hard work will get you where you need to be. That's one thing I feel that my parents did well. They put us in the best situation they possibly could…they would always work hard to put food on the table and to put food on our backs."
For the Green family, they see Stanley Jr. making his dreams a reality. For them, it is more than Stanley Jr. being a good football player, it is about him reaching his goals and putting in the work to take his game to the next level.
"To see him happy makes me happy," said Donielle. "We are just happy to see him accomplish his goals. He was like 'this year mom I'm going to score a touchdown' and he did it. Because when he does something, he gives it his all."
"As a dad I have been telling him for years, 'son you have gifts to make it, all you have to do is work hard because you have the gifts now you have to put the work ethic with it'," said Stanley Sr. "I always told him that and now it's paying off."
For Stanley Jr., he doesn't forget his struggles of the past, he uses it as motivation. That motivation, combined with trying to represent his family on the field, gives the Illini the football player they see on game days.
"I just feel like I'm representing them every time I'm out there," said Stanley Jr. "I try to play hard. I feel like when I play, I show them how hard I play every down. A lot of built up frustration, things we been through, a lot of pain I went through as a kid. Just going out and representing my family and making them proud, that's the biggest thing."
According to Donielle, Stanley Jr. has another "big goal" for his football team, but she is going to let her son's play do the talking, "He has some goals this year playing football and I just want to see him hit those goals."
If his life has been any indication, Stanley Green Jr. will put in the work to achieve those goals regardless of anything that is put in his path. His first touchdown was just the beginning.
