All parents have experienced the uncomfortable moment when your life as Mom or Dad collides with your career. It could be the call from the school nurse in the middle of the work day, the fever discovered in the morning right before your big presentation, or your kids who are home on school break photobombing the Zoom meeting with your boss.
Being a world-famous athlete and TV personality can make a lot of these problems go away, but apparently not all of them. Even mega-celebrities sometimes struggle to balance their parental duties with career commitments. That's exactly what happened to MLB legend Derek Jeter on a recent telecast.
Jeter, a Hall of Fame shortstop, now works as an analyst on Fox Sports. During a recent game, a rain delay forced Jeter and the rest of the crew to fill three extra hours with coverage and analysis. And then his phone rang live on air.
While in the middle of speaking, Jeter's phone went off.
"Sorry. It’s a rain delay. I had a parent-teacher conference that I’m going to miss. So, sorry guys," Jeter said as he silenced the ringer.
The response from Jeter's co-analyst, former player David Ortiz, was so wholesome:
"Take it! Take it" Ortiz yelled. "Take the call, man." The gang enjoyed a good laugh at the slightly awkward broadcast miscue, but Ortiz wasn't joking. He doubled down a moment later when he said, "Kids first."
Host Kevin Burkhardt then quipped, "Derek has a parent teacher conference to go to, so we're going to take a break." At first, he appeared to be teasing, but he then admitted, "Well, we weren't supposed to be on the air, you're right! This is a surprise to all of us."
"I actually should get on it," Jeter then said, checking his phone again.
"You should go do your thing," Burkhardt said. Ortiz then added, "We got you, dawg."
The video went viral when MLB on Fox posted it to Instagram, and people couldn't say enough good things about how the men handled the situation.
"Best part is, everyone else was like 'go, that’s more important, we got your back'" one commenter said.
"The best part was all the other supporting men on that stage actually meaning when they say 'go man, take it'" added another.
"These men are the best thing to happen to sports in a long time… they’re funny, real humans and pro hands on dads!"
"A+ parenting. A+ teammates encouraging him to take it."
"The man who refused to have children until he finished playing because he wanted to be totally committed to fatherhood or the game. Way to go Derek for being an incredible father"
(That one is true, by the way. Jeter is on record with Fox News saying, ""The one thing I can say about my parents is: They were always present. It’s so hard when you have kids—I don’t care if it’s one kid; I have four kids—you want to be there, and then when you miss a day or two, you come back, and they completely change," and that he tries his best to emulate them.)
Derek Jeter Nod GIF by ESPN Giphy
The video even caught the attention of world-famous family psychologist Dr. Becky, who found the entire exchange to be an incredible teachable moment for other working parents.
She says she often speaks with parents who worry immensely about how their bosses and coworkers will react to their family obligations, causing tons of anxiety and mental strife.
Her advice was simple and pretty brilliant:
"What if people around me think I'm slacking and think I'm not doing a good job?" she said parents often worry. "You might not have [Ortiz] next to you telling you, 'Hey, we've got this, go do that thing for your kid'"
But that doesn't mean we have to feel alone and judged.
"If we are going to make up the thoughts of other people, we might as well make up that those thoughts are supportive. So the next time you're struggling ... imagine everyone in your workplace saying, 'We've got this. Go do that. We support you.'"
In a culture that rewards hustle and sacrifice and does not always do a good job accommodating people who want to have both careers and families, it's nice to see an example of what a supportive workplace atmosphere can look like.
It's great that Jeter wants to be there for his kids, but what's even better about this viral clip is the encouragement he gets from his fellow hosts and analysts that family, indeed, should come first.
sipping modern family GIF 
Kids enjoying learning together with a laptop.
Joyful student aces math class!
Students collaborate in a lively group activity.
Derek Jeter Nod GIF by ESPN