Sting's Sons Found Their Calling On The Gridiron
It's not uncommon for children of professional wrestlers to follow in their parent's footsteps: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino, and dozens of other former champions followed their parents into the ring. But one WWE Hall of Famer instead saw his two sons shy away from the squared circle.
Garrett Borden and Steven Borden Jr. both opted to play football, unlike their father, Steve Borden, who most wrestling fans know simply as "Sting." Sting, a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and four-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, had his two sons with his first wife, Sue Borden.
Although Garrett, Sting's oldest son, once found himself in the middle of his father's 2007 TNA feud with Kurt Angle, when Angle attacked the high schooler after football practice, it wasn't enough to persuade Garrett into becoming a wrestler. Rather, he went on to play fullback for Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California.
'He's always kind of pushed me to do what I want'
The current AEW star's youngest son, Steven Jr., also opted to play football instead of wrestling. Steven Jr. played tight end for the University of Kentucky and later tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs, who ultimately passed on signing the second-generation athlete. The Kansas City Star asked Steven Jr. at the time about growing up around his father's fame, and he acknowledged people often asked about it.
"It's never bothered me," Steven Jr. told the newspaper. "It's actually been one of those things that has pushed me my entire life. You see what your dad has done, you want to beat him out."
In fact, Steven Jr. told The Kansas City Star his dad was supportive of his decision to strike out on his own. "He's always kind of pushed me to do what I want to do, make a name for myself outside of what he's done," Steven Jr. said. "So that's been the goal my entire life, not really to follow in his footsteps necessarily, but to make my own name ... he never really was one of those dads who kind of wanted to push their son into their own deal."