http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ssamano/37861 This story is not meant to glorify&nbsp;thug&nbsp;life or teenage pregnancy. One of my concerns&nbsp;heading into this story was that's&nbsp;how some readers might take it.&nbsp; This story's&nbsp;purpose is&nbsp;to inform the public on the intriguing background of the life of&nbsp;Kern County's most prolific running back. There's much more to Julian Dean-Johnson than touchdowns and off-the-charts rushing totals. That's what I aimed for.&nbsp;I wanted to write about what he's had deal with while putting up those gaudy numbers. Because Julian is one of our area's best athletes, he's somebody to write about. And I could've written a fluff piece and&nbsp;completely avoided the substantial history of his&nbsp;troubled past. But that would only be half the story. Writing stories&nbsp;like these&nbsp;is what&nbsp;puts the news value&nbsp;into the sports section. We&nbsp;can't just act&nbsp;as if Julian is like every other standout football player in Kern. He's not. He's&nbsp;in a unique situation.&nbsp;And that's the story I wanted to tell. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Knowing the&nbsp;basic&nbsp;information I knew about Julian&nbsp;-- that he's a teenage dad and that he comes from a poor family and that he was suspended for two games&nbsp;this season for &quot;disciplinary reasons&quot;&nbsp;-- it's not like I could just pull the kid aside after practice and jump into questions about that stuff. I had to make sure he was willing to talk about these things. I explained to Julian how this was his opportunity to explain his actions and let people know what he's about. He understood that and was willing to open up. I must have spent about three or four hours total over the course of a couple days talking to Julian about his life. He was a nice kid, very respectful and very much open to share his story.&nbsp;Underneath his rough exterior is a playful inside.&nbsp;You should see the happiness on his daughter's face&nbsp;when he gets home and the way Julian lights up too. Like the story said, he seems focused&nbsp;on doing&nbsp;what's best for her from here on out. Hopefully he does. -- You can read the story about Julian Dean-Johnson by clicking here. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; This story is not meant to glorify&nbsp;thug&nbsp;life or teenage pregnancy. One of my concerns&nbsp;heading into this story was that's&nbsp;how some readers might take it.&nbsp; This story's&nbsp;purpose is&nbsp;to inform the public on the intriguing background of the life of&nbsp;Kern County's most prolific running back. There's much more to Julian Dean-Johnson than touchdowns and off-the-charts rushing totals. That's what I aimed for.&nbsp;I wanted to write about what he's had deal with while putting up those gaudy numbers. Because Julian is one of our area's best athletes, he's somebody to write about. And I could've written a fluff piece and&nbsp;completely avoided the substantial history of his&nbsp;troubled past. But that would only be half the story. Writing stories&nbsp;like these&nbsp;is what&nbsp;puts the news value&nbsp;into the sports section. We&nbsp;can't just act&nbsp;as if Julian is like every other standout football player in Kern. He's not. He's&nbsp;in a unique situation.&nbsp;And that's the story I wanted to tell. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Knowing the&nbsp;basic&nbsp;information I knew about Julian&nbsp;-- that he's a teenage dad and that he comes from a poor family and that he was suspended for two games&nbsp;this season for &quot;disciplinary reasons&quot;&nbsp;-- it's not like I could just pull the kid aside after practice and jump into questions about that stuff. I had to make sure he was willing to talk about these things. I explained to Julian how this was his opportunity to explain his actions and let people know what he's about. He understood that and was willing to open up. I must have spent about three or four hours total over the course of a couple days talking to Julian about his life. He was a nice kid, very respectful and very much open to share his story.&nbsp;Underneath his rough exterior is a playful inside.&nbsp;You should see the happiness on his daughter's face&nbsp;when he gets home and the way Julian lights up too. Like the story said, he seems focused&nbsp;on doing&nbsp;what's best for her from here on out. Hopefully he does. -- You can read the story about Julian Dean-Johnson by clicking here. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; en-us Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:59:35 PST <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Great story. Thanks for doing &quot;more than fluff&quot;~ Congratulations to Julian.</span></p> <br /> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ssamano/37861/#c_345815 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ssamano/37861/#c_345815 <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Great story. Thanks for doing &quot;more than fluff&quot;~ Congratulations to Julian.</span></p> <br /> <p>Great job Simon. I've talked to Julian a couple of times and knew nothing about him other than that he was a great running back. Your story&nbsp;story&nbsp;brought out his true humanity.&nbsp;I wish JDJ, his girlfriend, and daughter&nbsp;the best.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ssamano/37861/#c_345911 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ssamano/37861/#c_345911 <p>Great job Simon. I've talked to Julian a couple of times and knew nothing about him other than that he was a great running back. Your story&nbsp;story&nbsp;brought out his true humanity.&nbsp;I wish JDJ, his girlfriend, and daughter&nbsp;the best.</p>