Clarence Thomas Reads Huskerboard

Husker N KC · May 26, 2010

Steven M. Sipple: Justice Clarence Thomas sees something beyond the game

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 - 08:01:42 pm CDT

Imagine Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in his chambers. Deep in thought. Contemplating how to interpret the Constitution. Studying sources that no doubt help him form opinions that have a wide-ranging impact on society — sources like Husker football blogs and message boards.

“Do I do that? Does Flipper swim?” says the affable Thomas, 61, an enthusiastic and well-researched Nebraska football fan. “I don’t play golf. I don’t gamble. I don’t play tennis. I don’t just hang around. I don’t drink.”

He follows Big Red. As a hobby. As a passion. Sometimes as a way to break up his workday.

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks during the Nebraska football Leadership 101 seminar at the Champions Club on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. (WILLIAM LAUER / Lincoln Journal Star)

A native of Pin Point, Ga., near Savannah, Thomas got his affection for Nebraska football from his in-laws, the late Donald and Marjorie Lamp of Omaha. The Lamps had season tickets for decades, though they really weren’t avid sports fans, Thomas says. Thing is, the Lamps saw something in the Husker experience that went beyond a mere game.

“What I have found is, there is something underneath,” Thomas says.

Although this isn’t the time of year he should be taking time off work, Thomas says, he welcomed the opportunity to speak Tuesday at Nebraska football’s Leadership 101 seminar at the Champions Club across the street from Memorial Stadium. He says it marked the first time he’s been invited to speak about leadership.

It shouldn’t be the last time. His message was strong. The gist: Leadership begins with leading yourself and analyzing what kind of life you’re leading. You can’t demand of others what you’re not doing yourself, he says.

“In my years in Washington, I have come to firmly believe that without character, one cannot and should not lead,” Thomas told 130 people at the seminar, mixing in playful pokes at Texas football.

Thomas spoke about assessing yourself honestly as a method of self-improvement. What do you need to change? Let’s face it, being completely honest with yourself isn’t always pretty. It can be extremely humbling.

“It’s extraordinary what honesty breeds,” Thomas told the crowd. “It breeds more honesty.”

Perhaps this stuff sounds a tad corny in the Sports section. Cynics snicker. We’ve grown increasingly cynical as a society, Thomas says. Indeed, it’s cool to be cynical. But Thomas grew up believing good prevails over evil, and that you can do the right thing and it’ll work out right for you.

It’s worked well for Thomas. He rode the Reagan Revolution. He kept climbing life’s ladder, despite growing up in poverty. Despite all those years of Jim Crow laws. Despite a childhood in a broken family. Despite his bitter and highly contested Senate confirmation hearings in 1991. Despite it all, he kept pushing forward and trying to improve himself.

Along the way, Thomas’ affection for the Huskers deepened, as he visited family in Omaha, as he taught law at Creighton every other year. Yes, in Big Red football, he saw “something underneath.”

One day about 15 years ago, Thomas experienced it firsthand, when Tom Osborne invited him to Lincoln. Thomas was hooked for good. Osborne’s program was flourishing at the time, but the two didn’t talk much about football, Thomas recalls.

“(Our talk) was about what’s right,” Thomas says. “About life. About character. About leadership. About how you live your life. He was trying to get all that over in the context of football. So football becomes a metaphor for something larger.”

It was clear Tuesday that Thomas is comfortable kibitzing. He’s humorous and thoughtful. Man, he knows Husker football. He rattles off names of recruits. He vividly recalls conversations with current and former Huskers.

Tuesday’s conversation predictably turned to Oct. 16, to the Texas game, to the team that benefited from one extra second in an unforgettable Big 12 championship game.

He might just have to come back to Lincoln on Oct. 16, Thomas says, adding:

“I’m going to be the timekeeper.”