Bivian “Sonny” Lee, III understands what these young men without fathers go through, the lack of confidence and search for validation. And he’s not sitting around crying about it either. Nope, he’s doing something and not only for himself, but for all the fatherless young males in New Orleans with his new organization, the Son of a Saint Sports Foundation.See New Orleans, Sonny is literally the son of a Saint (we know how much you wish you were too). His father, Bivian Lee, Jr., was a defensive back for the Saints from 1971-1975. Sadly, at the age of 36, Bivian passed away, leaving behind his wife and two young children, Sonny’s sister Tamica, and Sonny himself who was only 3 years old at the time.
Even without his father growing up, Sonny was always very active in sports, including baseball and football. As a student at St. Augustine High School, Sonny decided to try out for the football team. He said, “On the first day of tryouts, the coach asked who wanted to play quarterback, which was my position. A friend of mine named Albert Poree, who was this really big guy, stepped up and volunteered for the position. Instead of also stepping up and trying my hand at the position, I just kind of turned away from the competition. At the time, I didn’t have confidence in myself, so I just went with things. I was like, ‘Well, he wants to be quarterback, so let him do his thing and I’ll do something else.’ I ended up playing defensive back because the coaches wanted me to play like my dad, but I remember getting burnt on the first play of high school and I haven’t played football since.”
After leaving football alone, Sonny played tennis for the remainder of his time in high school. "Football and tennis are total opposites, I know, but I chose tennis because it is an individual sport and I excelled at it," he explained. “I was discouraged from football, but all my best friends played while I just watched wishing I was out there with them. I had such a lack of confidence because I never really had anyone to guide me in that direction. That’s where that male guidance should have come in and said, ‘Get out there! You’ve got talent. Go ahead and use it!’ I had good grades and I was in honors classes, but I never gained the confidence to go out and play. Giving up football is my biggest regret in life, but also my biggest lesson learned. NEVER GIVE UP!"
Once he graduated from St. Aug, Sonny enrolled in the University of New Orleans (UNO). Shortly afterwards, he started an internship with the New Orleans Zephyrs where he eventually became the Assistant Director of Operations.
And then came the job of a lifetime…Chief Aide to Saints owner Tom Benson! "It was a great experience, from private jets and yachts to hanging with Saints players, But most importantly, getting a bird's eye view of how a great organization is run." said Sonny. “After that, I started working with Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) and that's where I’m currently working now.”
Although Sonny enjoys his position with NOJO, he still had a longing to honor his father in some way since he was no longer with the Saints organization. In late 2010, he was telling his sister about wanting to work with fatherless males and maybe starting a foundation. He explained, “I guarantee that had my father been around, I would have played on a professional level of some kind. So I wanted to do something to offer guidance to kids that are in the same situation that I was in. I started messing around with a bunch of names and from the moment I uttered Son of a Saint, I knew it was the perfect name!”
He added, “The whole purpose of Son of a Saint Sports Foundation is to promote confidence in our youth. We fund fatherless males' participation in youth sports programs. So, for example, if a child wants to play tennis and he needs a tennis racket, we’ll provide that for him, either independently or through a partnership. And once they enter the program, they’re in; it’s not just a one-time deal where we give a child funding and then he’s gone. Now, in order for him to get the funding, he has to come to a mentorship education program every other Saturday for 2 hours each time. He’ll come in and maybe get some tutoring in the first half-hour, then maybe some life skills or etiquette training, and the last half hour or so will be one-on-one or group mentoring where everyone can voice their concerns about what’s going on in their lives.”
“Once they’ve completed the initial 4 hours, which will be one full month, we start the funding process for their specific sports activities. We’re affording the fatherless males the opportunity to get positive male guidance from coaches and positive male camaraderie from teammates. And we’re also helping single mothers. There are many single mothers out there who simply can’t afford to send their sons to sports programs because they can get expensive, so this is a great program to have their sons be a part of.”
Son of a Saint Sports Foundation accepts males from ages 9-13 who reside primarily in a fatherless home where no other male 18 or older lives. Each child also has to maintain a passing GPA, good conduct in school, and commit to a minimum of 4 hours of mentorship to receive funding.
Well Sonny, what a wonderful tribute you are giving to your father by helping those in need. Son of a Saint is an excellent organization and one that is greatly needed in our community. And with that being said, WHO DAT!
For more information about becoming a member, mentor, sponsoring a child or enrolling your child in the Son of a Saint Foundation, please visit the website at www.sonofasaint.org.
(Editor's Note: Son of a Saint is currently looking for positive male role models to mentor kids in a group setting. They are also in need of a transportion bus/van for occasional field trips. Email Sonny for more information on how you can help.)
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