Talk about making a splash, all Charles Lee did in his first game since being promoted to the regular rotation was reel in a 53-yard touchdown reception. So, here he is on his mother Barbara's whuppings, being shy, the Caprice, some great coaching jobs and raising a young black son.
RM: You said your mom scared you?
CL: She did. Man, moms didn't play. She kept me on my P's and Q's all the time.
RM: Most memorable whupping you got from your mom?
CL: I remember one time we went to the mall and she had to go to another store and left me some money to stay in the game room. Well, I blew that $5 real quick and I started looking all around the mall for her. Eventually, I went to the lost and found and had her paged.
RM: Say you didn't have your mom paged in the middle of the mall.
CL: I did. Oh man, it was bad. As soon as she got there, she beat me with a brush she had in the purse. It did not stop until we got home and then when we got home I got a whupping with the extension cord.
RM: In the course of life, the average kid is going to get about 10 whuppings that he deserved. Did you deserve that one?
CL: Definitely. I deserved that one. In fact, I didn't get many, but the ones that I did get, I deserved them. It was stuff like acting up in school or getting involved in some stuff that I had no business getting involved in.
RM: Do you adopt the same approach for your 7-year-old son (Keyno)?
CL: Oh yeah! When he does something I don't approve of, then I straighten him out. I definitely think it's okay. The Bible tells you train a child up in the ways you go. They're building jails and they're not building them for their kids.
RM: You're shy?
CL: At times I am. Usually, when it's one on one, I like to be quiet. I guess it comes from being an only child. I like to be by myself a lot. I read a lot, a lot of inspirational books. The way a man thinks. It's interesting trying to learn what makes a man think.
RM: How can you be shy and driving a 21-year old candy apple red Caprice?
CL: You're right. But that's my baby. I got it last year, just before the Super Bowl. I wanted an old school ride and then I saw it and knew I had to have it. I put everything in it and it cost, probably about $20,000 (to fix it up). It's like a whole new car. I tell you this, she ain't going nowhere. I need to pick out a name for her.
RM: The lowest moment?
CL: That was the first time I ever got cut, that was in Green Bay. I was one of those guys that never thought he would get cut and then they called me in and said they were going to let me go. They didn't really have any answers as to why. They told me I was too much confidence. I didn't understand what that meant. Still don't. It hurt me. It took everything not to cry.
RM: The highest moment?
CL: Definitely Monday night. That was the high point of my career.
RM: Recount the last 20 strides down the sideline.
CL: It was like, "Wow, this is happening." The only thing I could do was see the crowd. I couldn't even hear the crowd. But I could feel them.
RM: Why the Lambeau Leap?
CL: I had a couple of things planned that I wanted to do, but the leaping thing was totally instinctive. I saw this guy and he was calling me, "Come here, come here." And I just took off and went into his arms.
RM: Man, they looked like they were pounding you up there.
CL: You don't feel anything at that point.
RM: Ask Bill Clinton one thing . . .
CL: Was it worth it?
RM: Do you think it was worth it?
CL: The embarrassment of your family and your wife and he had a child at that point, a situation like that you have to think beyond yourself. You have a lot more to lose.
RM: But that's easy for you to say.
CL: True, for everybody. But I would think a situation like that you have to look at the bigger picture.
RM: So Charles Lee gets busted like Bill, does Charles Lee come clean?
CL: I would probably have to take Bill's answer, "It wasn't me."
RM: We were talking the other day about being outcoached and thinking about some of the great blowouts. How about Sitting Bull over General Custer?
CL: Yeah, that was definitely a blowout. I really don't think Custer had a game plan. He was outcoached. You know what they say, if you don't prepare to win, you're preparing to fail.
RM: But truth be told, Sitting Bull had better players and more players.
CL: True, but I don't think Custer ever had a chance. Not to win.
RM: How about Moses and Pharaoh?
CL: That was another one. Maybe Pharaoh could have tried to talk his way out of it. Tried to believe something. Say to Moses, "We don't have to go through all of this."
RM: Moses outcoached Pharaoh, for sure.
CL: No doubt. Moses was ready. He had a game plan. He studied film. He knew about the Red Sea and knew exactly when to run that play.
RM: Favorite song?
CL: Signs, by Beyonce.
RM: Should Beyonce lose a couple lbs?
CL: No way. She's good. I like a voluptuous woman.
RM: Who would you marry if you could have any woman in the world?
CL: J-Lo.
RM: Charles, she's got some issues.
CL: Whatever, she's up there.
RM: Whose mind would you like to have?
CL: Bill Gates.
RM: I would rather have his money.
CL: That's true, but his mind helped him get his money.
RM: Your teammates aren't sure exactly where you're from, enlighten us.
CL: I'm from Homestead. But, it is called Miami Homestead. It's the last thing you drive through before you get to the Keys.
RM: So your house got hammered by Hurricane Andrew?
CL: There was only one room left in the house. It was a five bedroom house and my room was the only one left standing. And everything in the room was pretty much exactly like it was before the hurricane. That was weird. I really don't know why that was. Our roof was one block over but my room left standing. Weird.
RM: Why do they call you Friday Night Lee?
CL: When I first got here, that was the only night I would go out. Club Joy on Friday night. We had to go to the hotel on Saturday nights, so Friday night was my going-out night. And when I went out, I went out hard. So, they started calling me Friday Night Lee.
RM: What's the most important thing Keyno has to know about you?
CL: That I love him, no matter what happens, no matter what he becomes, no matter where he's at or what's going on. He has to know that his daddy loves him.
RM: I'll be honest with you, that's missing in the black community in particular.
CL: No doubt. In our community, there aren't enough fathers being with their kids. It's been a pattern that unfortunately a lot of black families are accustomed to, where the mothers have been the backbone of the house.
RM: Why can't we break that pattern?
CL: It's something that has been passed down from generation to generation. You can be raised by a strong black woman, but she can't teach you to be a man. If you don't have a man (role model), then you don't know how to become a man. You need someone to teach you how to be a respectable black man. How to carry yourself. How to groom yourself. How to realize that you're carrying a lot more than just you, but your reputation and your family's name.
