John King is on the phone, and the first thing he is doing is apologizing. He’s recently undergone surgery for mouth cancer, and earlier this week he had some teeth extracted for follow-up radiation on his jaw. Without expressing a syllable of self-pity or even concern for his well-being, he’s issuing a disclaimer about being hard to understand.
In truth, everything King said—and stands for—came through with unmistakable clarity. The deep East Texas twang, the Friday Night Lights colloquialisms of a high school coach, the unwavering belief that football is a hard sport played by hard boys. And the pride in his son, Haynes, one of the hardest of them all.
