In a somewhat cringe-worthy feature on Alabama's super-talented and Heisman Trophy favored quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, both father and son seemed to admit that Tua's father disciplined his son with a belt for both bad grades and throwing interceptions.
Tagovailoa and his parents were all involved in the story and all seemed comfortable with the assessment that the 'Bible and belt" were involved in disciplining their son.
"It had to do with a lot of pressure, if I don't perform well or perform the way I'm supposed to, I'm going to get it after," said Tua. Asked to elaborate, he said "Oh, well, just know that the belt was involved and other things were involved as well."
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Tagovailoa's father Galu seemed to laugh about the recollection and also said that he had turned his son from a right-handed young man into a lefty-throwing quarterback because he's a lefty.
Corporal punishment is still likely practiced in a lot of homes, but it's uncertain as to whether this discipline extends to throwing interceptions in most cases.
The NFL in recent years punished all-star running back Adrian Peterson for beating his child with a switch and a revelation recently that he still hit his son with a belt will likely draw scrutiny as well.
In addition to the discipline admission, other eyebrow-raising items included the fact that the entire family moved from Hawaii to Alabama after Tua cast his lot with the Crimson Tide and the fact that Tua said his college decision was made by his father.
"My father is the decision-maker in the family," said Tua. "Whether I wanted to go to other schools or not, my dad had the final say in where I was going."
