Professional athletes have a long history of entering politics. Given their already well established fan base, those who have a mind for it have proven to have great potential in the political sphere. Recently, a well liked and well regarded member of the jiu-jitsu community, Tom DeBlass, added another feather to his already heavily adorned cap when he successfully ran for the Lacey Township school board!
DeBlass has made good use of social media the past couple of years, building a strong following and showcasing an entertaining yet seemingly compassionate persona. He is also a perennial competitor, most recently stepping out into the highest level of competition at the recent ADCC 2017 event. I was interested to learn a bit about Tom’s intent with and future in public service.
Everything goes through the board of education like teachers being hired, budget, rules, etc. It’s a really big position and I’m super excited. I really care about a few things and that’s the teachers, the parents and the children and that’s all that matters to me. I want the best for the teachers, I want the best for the students and I want what’s best for the parents. I have two children in the school district. I grew up as a special needs student, I had severe ADHD and it’s not easy and I want to be a voice for everyone that doesn’t necessarily have a voice.
DeBlass, of course, will continue his growth in jiu-jitsu, but has some aspirations to tie his new position with his existing one as a well respected instructor.
I wanna do something in the school district where if parents qualify, if they don’t have enough money to where we can grant them something to have their children train at my school I wanna do a lot and really give back… I think the community sees what kind of impact I have on the entire world. It’s funny, I checked my inbox today, my message requests, and I literally have requests from about 25 different countries. My reach is worldwide and I think that the community saw that people like this guy; he must be doing something right. Sometimes I have no filter, I say what I feel and I’m just real. I believe in helping the good people and if you’re not a good person, I’m really not a fan of you. I’m about the good people and I think that jiu-jitsu has given me a platform to show who I really am.
So will we see a President DeBlass one day? Will Tom make America “savage” again? I was curious about his intentions if any in a future in politics.
At 35 I’ve done more than I ever dreamt of and I’m not gonna come into the office and say ‘Oh I’m gonna keep going further, do this and do that’ I have to prove myself and I just want to prove to the people, and to the parents, and to the people that voted for me and to the people that didn’t vote for me that I’m truly for them. I’m not gonna say any of my future goals, I just want to make the school district better, and from there we’ll sit down and figure out what I’m going to do next.
In closing DeBlass had a few simple words for the readers and his supporters
I just want to say thank you to everybody that support me, I’m so thankful, I’m so humbled I’m so honored to have this position, it just means the world to me. It’s really an amazing thing and I promise I’m taking it so serious, this is such responsibility, this is such pressure and I rise to the occasion, under pressure I perform. And I’m gonna show everybody that they’re gonna get the best of me, and I’ll be available to everyone. No matter how busy I am I’m gonna be available. I just want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart.
It’ll be interesting to see Tom, one of the most vocal people in the jiu-jitsu community, step out into the public sphere.
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