“Please Talk to Me”: Patriots All-Pro Marcus Jones Recalls Emotional Battle With Son’s Autism

On any given Sunday, the New England Patriots’ primary nickleback, Marcus Jones, is forced to cover and tackle some of the most gifted athletes on planet earth. If that weren’t difficult enough, he’s now being tasked with limiting the Denver Broncos in this weekend’s AFC Championship.

That alone would be enough to break most people, but for the 27-year-old father of one, the real adversity has come in raising his son, Major, who was recently diagnosed with autism. Prior to his conference championship debut, Jones sat down with ESPN’s Ryan Clark to discuss his journey, not as a player, but rather as a father and as a human being.

“It’s hard for parents to, first off, get their son or daughter checked and tested. That’s a real big challenge,” the All-Pro DB explained. “That was a challenge for me. And I can honestly say, whenever I did get him tested, afterwards, I cried. It was hard, just off of the fact that I knew, but it’s different whenever you get to test, and you get the result… It felt like I let my son down.”

To hear that a father, of any caliber, is shouldering the weight of failing their child is nothing short of heartbreaking. In one instance, Jones was forced to accept that Major would never be able to live a ‘normal’ life, and that everything he had envisioned for his son up until that moment was now lost forever.

“He’s not speaking. He’s nonverbal, so there are certain times when he’s crying, and you want to be like, ‘Hey. Please, talk to me,’ but you’re not getting it,” he recalled with tears.

Nevertheless, Jones is choosing to define the situation rather than allowing the situation to define his family. By choosing to become more knowledgeable on the topics at hand and asking himself questions like “What are the best things that I can do?” he’s taken on an increasingly active role in his son’s life.

It may sound exhausting, and it often is, but according to the man himself, anything is possible when you have a bit of love and a lot of patience.

“It’s patience. Like, whenever he drops something, I’m ready to pick it up 30 times. That’s just me, I’ve got all of the patience in the world for him, and I just want to make sure he’s always well.”

Unfortunately for the Broncos, Jones will likely be just as patient with them in the AFC Championship. While this is one of those stories that remind us that several things in life are more important than football, there’s also likely nothing in this world that would make the Patriots All-Pro happier than seeing his son dance across the Super Bowl stage as confetti rains down, and that’s exactly what will make him one of the most dangerous men on the field come Sunday afternoon.