Wright's successes tinged with sorrow
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
These should be happy days for University of Hawai'i football player Matt Wright.
Advertiser library photo • Oct. 13, 2001
He is on track to graduate and, during spring football practices, he is listed as the No. 1 strong-side linebacker.
Matt Wright, left, accepted a scholarship from the University of Hawai'i in part to help raise his younger brother, Charles, right, after the boys' parents divorced in 1996.
Still, he often feels some sadness when he thinks about his estrangement from his mother. He said the rift began after his parents divorced in 1996. Wright and his younger brother moved in with their father.
"I don't have a good relationship with my mom," he said, his voice dissolving into a whisper. (His mother could not be reached for comment.)
"I know she's at the games," said Wright, a senior. "I see her every once in a while. I don't talk much to her, but I know she's there. She was always at my games when I was younger. I know I'm playing in front of her, but I don't have that relationship that goes with it. Maybe one day."
Wright has received support from his father, as well as his two roommates, linebackers Chris Brown and Keani Alapa.
"It's tough for Matt," Brown said. "He says he wants to be close to his mom. He just hasn't seen her in so long. I said, 'Don't worry about it. Give it time.' "
Said Wright: "There are a lot of things that happened that made me take a step back. I think one day we'll get back together and work things out, just not now."
Instead, Wright is focused on securing a starting job and providing guidance for his brother. As an Iolani School senior, Wright said, he turned down other scholarship offers because he wanted to help raise his brother.
The family ties also convinced Wright to remain at UH when he considered transferring two years ago.
"I was questioning myself a lot," he said. "I was working hard, but not getting the results I wanted. I thought maybe I wasn't doing enough."
He also felt misplaced as a running back after playing linebacker most of his football life.
"One day I was in a defensive meeting and (running backs) Coach (Wes) Suan came up to me and said, 'You're with us,' " Wright recalled. "I thought, 'whatever I have to do to get on the field.' "
Wright never adjusted, and one day, "I talked to my dad about transferring. I would have gone anywhere that would have taken me. Whenever I had problems, I talked to him a lot. He always said, 'Hang in there, things will work out.' I knew he was right. I love playing here. This is something I've always dreamed of since I was little."
Wright returned to linebacker last year, and by the middle of the season, he was the starting linebacker on the strong side. Alapa was moved to strong-side linebacker this spring, and now the roommates are competing for a starting job.
Brown, the No. 1 middle linebacker, has had to serve as referee. "Like (Tuesday) night, they were going back and forth with each other," Brown said. "They were saying, 'Punch me! Punch me!' It's a competition, but they have great respect for each other. Whoever's going to get the starting spot, the other one will be totally supportive."
Said Wright: "There was a lot of trash-talking going on at first. At one point, we didn't know how to leave it on the field. We brought it back into the house. There was a lot of tension between us. We've learned how to leave it on the field. We're best friends. We try to help each other out."
