Mural unveiling remembering Coach Anthony Bateman in Tifton

Not all heroes wear capes

TIFTON, Ga. – They say not all heroes wear capes but they might’ve worn blue baseball caps as Tifton unveils the mural for the gone but never forgotten coach Anthony Bateman.

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“My husband was a hero to me,” said Freeda Bateman, widow of Anthony Bateman.

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Coach Anthony Bateman stood as a father figure and pillar to this community.

“He would do anything for anybody, had no kids of his own, took care of so many kids in so many special ways,” said Larry Mimms, close friend of Bateman.

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Mural artist Broderick Flanigan tells me this piece gives hope to the youth.

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“There are a lot of African-American, Latino youth that attend this center and they really need that inspiration and guidance from adults that Mr. Bateman offered to many students,” said Broderick Flanigan, mural artist.

Bateman’s impact will live on in this community forever.

“We have to carry that legacy on of it doesn’t have to be our own child all of the children belong to all of us,” said Larry Mimms, close friend of Bateman.

You can’t say Old Omega Road without Coach Batemen.

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“I think he meant the world to them, anything he could do for anybody, I mean he did just that,” said Freeda Bateman, widow of Anthony Bateman.

Coach Bateman stays in the hearts of many Tifton residents today.

Cameron Sanders reporting.

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