The Craig Butler project Pt. 1

CRAIG ‘BULL Head’ Butler sits in front of a full trophy case with framed pictures of his family and members of Phoenix Academy on top of an adjacent piece of furniture. Overhead on the wall are bigger photographs of himself mingling with some of world football’s powerhouses.

Several times, during an interview, which lasted just over an hour, he referred to the figures on the wall to verify his authenticity in the sport as well as to validate his credibility against the various allegations that have swirled around his name in Jamaica.

Butler’s calmness, for the most part, belies the brash and abrasive nature he is known for and he admits to being, but solidifies his utterances about himself - a family man, who is very emotional and will fight to the last for those in his inner circle.

Closer to the end of the session, he cradles one of two puppies that had barged into his ‘office’. Using both, as well as the ‘about 20’ other dogs in the yard, he illustrated his belief in the structure of family and the logic and method behind his actions.

“I have dogs, I have birds, fish. Animals are honest. If they like you, they like you; if they don’t like you, they don’t like you; and they are loyal. Take care of them and they treat you good, so I tend to like animals,” Butler said.

TEACHING CARE

“I also utilise animals as a means by which I can teach my young ones to be able to take care of themselves and to take care of others, so that when they do have their children, they will be good parents. So we teach them a lot with the puppies and with the birds.

“All the Phoenix players they come and they stay here sometimes, feeding birds, taking care of the birds, taking care of the doggies, so when they get their own kids, because these (animals) are like children, they can’t talk and they depending on you to take care of them so,” he continued.

Phoenix is the football setup established by Butler, which nurtures talented youngsters in the sport with Leon Bailey being the most successful Jamaican player to emerge from it.

Since leaving Phoenix, Bailey has played for Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (KRC Genk) in Belgium, Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Germany, and currently plies his trade for Aston Villa in England. All the clubs are in the premier football competition of their respective countries.

Phoenix, according to Butler, was started because of his passion for football and the need to offer youth an opportunity in life.

According to Butler, he became acutely aware of the lack of opportunities facing youth because of his own upbringing.

Growing up, the eldest in a household run by a single mother, taught him life lessons and responsibilities, including having to attend his siblings’ parent-teacher association (PTA) meetings.

FOOTBALLER ALL MY LIFE

“I have been a footballer all my life. It was a release for me. It was a way of getting away from the world I had lived in, which was just constant responsibilities, taking care of my little brothers and sisters and making sacrifices. Sometimes I didn’t have lunch money so that they could have lunch.

“A lot of people see me and believe that because of the colour of my skin, life was always easy. My mother was a real estate broker and in that industry, sometimes they would sell a house today, and for another year, they don’t sell anything, so the funds will sometimes run out and it was very difficult for me growing up as a young man,” he said.

A lesson he learnt from his mother was to be comfortable in the spaces of his friends if he wanted them to be comfortable in his space. That lesson meant Butler was OK with his journeys to Jones Town, Arnett Gardens, Swallowfield and Maxfield Avenue to play football.

He has maintained that sort of eclectic experience when it comes to the makeup of his Phoenix Academy. The boys at the academy come from varying demographics, intermingling and sharing experiences as he seeks to better their lives, with football being that adhesive element.

Butler reasoned that his insistence on welcoming all is partly the reason so many believe in him, despite the naysayers.

“I am pleased with my life. It has been a life of service. I have had very good success. I love what I do. I love coaching, I love development, I love management. I love to see people uplifted. So many have passed through my hands and I am happy with it. I think I have had great success. Yes, I believe that I have self-actualised, but there is more that can be done.

“If you know me, you would realise that I am a very loving person, I am a very passionate person, I am a very emotional person. When I love, I love hard. I will go to the end of the earth for you,” he said.

Football, Butler argues, is just one component of what propels him and keeps him motivated, but the slow progression on the island irks his soul.

“Family, country, love,” he responded to what is his driving force.

“I am not happy with accepting where we are as a country, especially in the sport of football, because we can be so much better. We should be world-beaters. Just like how we are in track and field, we should be world-beaters in football.”