Dad-icated: Virtues of fatherhood emphasized at Hall of Fame Village event

CANTON – While Anthony Munoz certainly had an outstanding career with the Cincinnati Bengals, he made it known at the inaugural Fatherhood Festival that one of his prime focuses always has been being an effective father.

That focus remains today.

"When I became a father, I didn't know a whole lot," Munoz said to his audience Sunday in the Pro Football Hall of Fame event center ballroom. "I am just glad God let me be a father."

Munoz was among featured speakers at the event, which was arranged by the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls and the Fatherhood Festival.

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Munoz, who was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, was joined on the stage by his son, Michael. The younger Munoz is employed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Anthony Munoz, an offensive lineman during his National Football League career, gave an example of a sacrifice he made for the sake of his son.

Decide between ESPN job and coaching son's team

The father had a job with ESPN to help broadcast football games, but a conflict developed when the son asked Anthony Munoz to help coach his football team. Anthony Munoz approached ESPN with his dilemma. The network agreed to let Munoz out of his contract so he could help coach his son's team.

Anthony Munoz was "able to make decisions with my kids in mind and not just me in mind," he said. "I am grateful for that."

The Father's Day event, which included a brunch, attracted a near capacity crowd. The purpose of the program is help reinforce the importance of effective parenting on behalf of fathers.

"And also to help those kids that don't have a father figure in their life," said Justin Batt of Nashville, Tenn., who helped start the Daddy Saturday Foundation. "A lot of outreach for the event was for single mothers, foster children and low-income families."

Sunday was the final day of the three-day Fatherhood Festival.

"We want to do this every single year here in Canton," Batt said. "Then it grows from Canton to all over Ohio and all over the nation. At this point, fatherhood is a battleground. It is a fight."

Shaun Alexander visits Canton

Another former NFL star who spoke was Shaun Alexander, a running back with the Seattle Seahawks, won the league Most Valuable Player Award in 2005.

"The individual awards don't mean as much as doing something that is going to impact generations," Alexander said.

Alexander is the father of 10. He and his wife try to spend what he calls "one-on-one time" with each child.

Master of ceremonies at the event was Dennis Rebelo, a professor at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I.  Also at the event Sunday was Dave Robinson, a star defensive player with the Green Bay Packers during the team's championship years of the 1960s. Robinson also is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Reach Malcolm at 330-596-0326 or malcolm.hall@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: mhallREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Fatherhood Festival launched at Hall of Fame