Adam Amin shared a story Friday on X.
It touched on July 4th and the U.S. flag, family, domestic violence, anger, resentment, personal loss, drugs and more.
That’s a lot of ground to cover in an X thread, but the Fox Sports NFL and MLB announcer explained everything in an epic, exceptionally well-written story told in 29 posts.
It would be too much to include all the posts, and recount the entire story here, but Amin began by sharing a tale about his favorite July 4th. It happened in 2001, when he was 14.
“My father loved the 4th of July,” Amin began. “He became a citizen in 1993 and from then on, we had a small American flag planted on the edge of a wooden fence near the shrubbery in front of my childhood home. That sun-faded flag somehow lasted through a quarter century of terrible weather.”
Amin said that after that great July 4th, everything began unraveling the very next day, when one of his brothers got arrested for selling drugs. Amin proceeded to share an incredible tale of, essentially, his entire life, even explaining how his parents met (arranged marriage) and other deeply personal details. Among other revelations he shared:
• “When I was 5, my mother grabbed a butcher knife and brandished it at my father through her sobs.”
• “My brother was typically dashing and well-dressed. The next time I saw him was in a bright orange jumpsuit at court and then I didn’t see him for three years.”
• “During those three years, my mom and dad got back to fighting. With each other and with me. They decided I needed protection and I decided I wasn’t a kid anymore. I was on drugs often. I was angry all the time.”
Amin noted toward the end of the thread that, “Everything is fine. I’m good. Good things happen. I have good all throughout my life, including my family. But this time of year is a symbol of something.”
Yet he still feels the sense of loss from that long-ago July 4th, when his family gathered together for the last time.
“But I was just always hoping that the six of us would be in a room together one more time. July 4, 2001 was the final time it happened,” Amin wrote. “It helps to recognize that. Because maybe I can start to enjoy the spoils of a life once driven by anger and resentment. Maybe plant my own flag in one place long enough to where it has the chance to wear many years of rain and snow and fade with the light of the sun.”
It is, by any definition, unusual to share that many personal details in an X thread — or any public forum, for that matter. But those who read it applauded Amin’s thread.
This story is heartbreaking and infuriating and beautiful and a dozen other adjectives I can’t come up with right now. https://t.co/An1OnRvIvT
— Tiger-B8s (@Tiger_B8s) July 5, 2024
[Adam Amin on X]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.