Tommy Watson grew up in the Five Points area of Denver, Colorado– a crime-ridden neighborhood wrought with gang violence, drugs and poverty. Living in this type of neighborhood would create any number of obstacles and challenges for a young African-American male, However, Tommy’s biggest challenges were faced behind closed doors. Many of the negative influences insidiously crept into his home. 

Throughout his childhood, both of his parents were addicted to heroin and neither had a legal means of employment. As a result, family life for Tommy and his siblings was quite chaotic and they often found themselves unsupervised and uncared for. In part due to the help of others and also through his own personal drive, he was able to avoid the traps of drug addiction and gang affiliation that eventually consumed the lives of some of his siblings. In spite of several negative classroom experiences, he was able to persevere, graduate from high school and earn an athletic scholarship to play BIG TEN football for the University of Minnesota.