Staying strong in tough times
Staying strong in tough times

By Jake Trotter

Published: December 30, 2007

PHOENIX — Thelma Martin shudders to think where she'd be right now without her son, Dominique Franks, in her life.

"To be honest, I may have not been here today if I didn't have Dominique to comfort me with his strength,” she said. "In his younger years, he had to grow up and become a man before he wanted to.”

Wednesday night against West Virginia, Franks likely will make the first start of his career at cornerback, with Martin watching from the Fiesta Bowl stands.

But while that night should be filled with joy for both, the path to this stop has not.

Franks lost both his stepfather and father while in high school, making him the man of his family when he was still just a boy.

"He's been the rock for our family,” Martin said. "He puts everybody else before himself.”

On Dec. 23, 2002, Billy Bo Martin was driving home on the Turner Turnpike near Bristow.

A bad snowstorm struck Oklahoma that day, but Billy Martin was intent on getting home to Owasso, where his family was waiting.

But he never made it.

Martin's car, which was sideswiped by another vehicle, slammed into a diesel truck. He was killed instantly.

Police went to the Martins' home, but Thelma Martin couldn't handle the news. So police instead spoke with Franks, who was just a high school underclassman.

"He immediately jumped into the adult role,” Thelma Martin said. "When that happened, he took it on his shoulders to be there for me. He and my husband were very close, so it was hard for him. But he really took care of his mom.

"He dealt with missing my husband on his own time.”

Thelma Martin and Franks moved from Owasso to Tulsa shortly after Billy Martin's death.

That's when Franks' athletic career took off.

Franks helped lead Tulsa Union to back-to-back state football championships and a state basketball title, too.

The all-state defensive back was courted by schools around the country.

Franks and his biological father, Joe Bartee, both agreed Franks should attend college somewhere out of state and see what life was like outside Oklahoma.

But that plan changed.

On Oct. 13, 2005, Franks spoke with his father for the last time.

The next night, Thelma Martin was in the bleachers watching Franks play football at Enid High School when she received an alarming message.

Bartee had passed away.

Fighting tears, Martin decided to wait until the team bus got back to Tulsa before telling Franks what had happened.

But by that point, a family member had called Franks while he was on the bus.

When they finally arrived in Tulsa, Union coach Bill Blankenship invited Franks and Martin into the coach's office to grieve.

Franks tried to stay strong. But he needed a break from being strong.

"Once we were leaving, his teammates were waiting in the parking lot for him,” Martin said. "That's when it hit him and he broke down.”

After he helped bury his father that Saturday, Franks went straight to the tattoo parlor and got a tattoo of his father's nickname, "Pup,” across the left side of his chest. Right where his heart is.

Franks already had immortalized his stepfather by having Billy Martin's face tattooed on his right arm.

"That lets them know I won't forget them,” Franks said.

After Bartee's death, Franks realized how important his mother and siblings were to him and how much they needed him without Billy Martin or Bartee around.

On his way back from an official visit to Texas Tech, Franks phoned his mother and told her he was going to OU, where his uncle, Charles Franks, played defensive back in the late 1980s.

Franks eventually would wear the same jersey No. 15 as his uncle did.

"I felt like I needed to stay close to home,” he said. "My family needed me.”

Quarterback Sam Bradford and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy are two of Franks' best friends on the team.

Franks played little league football with McCoy.

When McCoy lost his mother during the summer, Franks was right there being strong for his friend.

"He's family,” McCoy said. "He really helped me when I was having a hard time.”

Franks also attended Cooper Middle School with Bradford in Oklahoma City.

"He's gone through a lot of stuff that if most kids went through, they wouldn't be playing football,” Bradford said. "To be where he is after that stuff, it's a tribute to his character.”

Franks has taken a special responsibility in acting as a father figure to his teenage brother, Jurone Woods.

Just before the Sooners traveled to Arizona, Franks invited Woods to stay with him in Norman.

"Those two days made me feel like I was his father,” Franks said. "It hurt when I had to take him home.”

But while Franks has compassion for everyone, he has saved a special place in his heart for his mom.

"My mother is the greatest person I have in my life,” Franks said. "The things we went through in our life, we've both made ourselves better people.”

At his senior prom, Franks took his mom instead of another girl from his class.

"That shows how special he is,” Thelma Martin said. "All the teachers, even the principal, there was not a dry eye at the prom.”

Being strong, though, has taken its toll on Franks.

"He feels guilty about laughter or a joke or having a good time with his friends,” Martin said. "He can be there with you, but his mind is somewhere else.”

But on occasion, Martin sees joy coming back into her son's life.

Wednesday night should be another one of those occasions.

"It's very important to have faith in your life,” she said. "We leaned on prayer and the strength of our family.

"And we leaned on Dominique.”

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