Author Archives: Brett Honeycutt

Devotional of the Week — A New Day

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“This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.’ The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”
Acts 8:30-34

A New Day

Major League Baseball’s Opening Day has no comparison. The excitement, hope and freshness of that day can’t be matched by any other sport. It’s likely because it signifies, for most, the beginning of sunny days and warm weather after spending the winter fighting icy and snowy conditions, unless, of course, you live in a tropical climate.

That’s what it felt like when I understood what it meant to follow Christ. The newness and hope were overwhelming because the worries of this life became insignificant when thinking what eternity with or without God would be like. The burden of fear, in regards to eternity, had been lifted.

I would love to tell you that Christians have less trouble, less fear, less shortcomings, less of a lot of things we consider bad, but it’s not true. We still have a sin nature, we still go through trials (maybe more, but it can help us become stronger believers), and we still have fears that can consume us, especially when we take our eyes off Christ. Is it still winter in your world? Or, do you have the hope of spring (a life with Christ)?

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor at Sports Spectrum magazine. This devotional is taken from our most recent Training Table, a compilation of sports-related devotionals included in each print magazine. Log in here to access the March 2013/Volume 27, Number 2 Training Table. 

Airing It Out — Why we stand with Robert Guerrero

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When I read about Robert Guerrero getting arrested, all sorts of emotions welled up—at first.

Then I read what happened and I thought, “No big deal.”

Yes. No. Big. Deal.

We have a logic fail by anyone who thinks otherwise, including people like ESPN’s Dan Rafael who, unfortunately, have essentially equated it with crimes like domestic violence.

Please read on if you care about logic and common sense and also please read the entire column before reacting, shooting off an email or commenting.

Here’s the story: Guerrero was arrested at New York’s JFK Airport on possession of a hand gun…which had no bullets…with no ammunition on him.

Why was he arrested? Because New York City has a strict gun law, that some call unconstitutional, and that actually has ensnared a U.S. marine (Ryan Jerome in 2012) and also a nurse (Meredith Graves in 2011), both of whom have concealed weapons permits for Indiana and Tennessee, respectively.

Does that matter, even though New York City also has issued concealed weapons permits and allows people with those permits to carry them? Some permits even allow people to carry them in every place except court buildings, schools, sporting events and any place that would have a sign, as revealed by radio personality Anthony Cumia (who has such a permit in New York City).

In essence, though, New York City is saying, “We don’t care about what Indiana and Tennessee say. We make our own rules. We don’t recognize your concealed weapons permit, even though you are registered in other states.”

Can you imagine if our drivers licenses were treated that way? “Sir, I know you have a license to drive in Indiana, but you can’t drive through this state until you get approved.”

Uh?

It’s really a great picture of our society and why it appears we are so chaotic in our beliefs. One says it’s right, another says it’s wrong. In essence, it’s moral relativism cloaked in something trivial like this.

The main issue I have, and which Rafael waded into, is that nearly every news source that has been reporting on Guerrero’s story seems to follow this pattern: “Robert Guerrero, who just appeared on the 700 Club and is devout in his Christian faith, was arrested for carrying a hand gun.”

Okay, so what? What’s the point of saying anything about his faith in relation to this? It has nothing to do with it. At all. I repeat. Nothing.

New York doesn’t recognize that he legally has a permit from another state. He has been approved to carry a gun. That is the story that everyone, including Rafael, is missing. So, if he was in California, where he has a concealed weapons permit, he wouldn’t be arrested. But, if you go to New York, it’s wrong. So, is it okay or not?

It doesn’t mean he’s bad, which Rafael subtly insinuates by lumping Guerrero in with Floyd Mayweather’s crime of domestic violence. C’mon Rafael, you’re better than that. You think Guerrero, who has a great reputation, is the same as Floyd Mayweather, who went to prison for domestic violence? What’s ironic is that part of Guerrero’s story is that he stayed by his wife’s side while she was close to death and while she was going through cancer treatments.

So, again, Rafael, you’re telling us that Guerrero is the same as Mayweather? Again, you’re a better journalist than that. Sensationalizing something because you can doesn’t mean it’s okay to do.

I know, some might say Guerrero broke a law. Again, though, if a law in one state is different than a law in another state, does it make it right or wrong? That’s the whole conundrum. Because, if it’s okay to carry a handgun in Tennessee, but not okay to carry it in New York because New York doesn’t recognize Tennessee law, then which state is right? Is Tennessee right or is New York right?

Guerrero has a great reputation and he has a strong faith in Christ, which we cover in our feature on him, “Invisible No More.” Guerrero is not some hardened criminal who doesn’t care about the law. He mistakenly thought it was okay, just like a U.S. marine did and just like a nurse did (both were given plea deals and basically got out of the situation).

He is a solid husband, with a great reputation, that some, unfortunately, seem to not care about.

Your reputation. That’s what’s important. But more than that, it’s what you know to be true about yourself, despite what others might say.

Robert Guerrero, hold your chin high and don’t listen to others.

It’s no big deal.

We stand with you.

By Brett Honeycutt

This column was on sportsspectrum.com. Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. His column addresses topics from a biblical perspective. Follow him on Twitter-@Brett_Honeycutt. 

Football, Hunting and Decisions

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Phil Robertson called signals, darted, dove, and threw. He wasn’t calling, chasing or hunting ducks, he was quarterbacking Louisiana Tech’s football team against Alabama in 1966.

It’s an interesting clip on YouTube that shows Robertson’s high skill level at quarterback.

Back in the mid-1960s, when Robertson was married, raising a family (his first child, Al, had been born), and going to college, he was the starting quarterback for Louisiana Tech. His backup? Future Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw. Yes, the same Terry Bradshaw that led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles.

Bradshaw remembered Robertson fondly in his autobiography, “It’s Only a Game.”

“The quarterback playing ahead of me, Phil Robertson, loved hunting more than he loved football,” Bradshaw wrote. “He’d come to practice directly from the woods, squirrel tails hanging out of his pockets, duck feathers on his clothes. Clearly he was a fine shot, so no one complained too much.”

It was evident even out of North Caddo High in Vivian, La., that Robertson could play at a high level. Despite offers from LSU, Mississippi, Baylor and Rice, Robertson stayed close to home and played less than 100 miles away at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La.

From 1965-67 at Louisiana Tech (the last two years as a starter), he passed for 2,237 yards and 12 TDs, including a school-record 302 yards during a loss to Southeast Louisiana in 1967. Those career numbers may not seem staggering compared to today’s pass-happy offenses, but consider he did that in an era when running the ball was the first, second and third option for most teams.

Though Robertson had one season of eligibility left and interest from the NFL’s Washington Redskins, he decided he loved hunting more. So he let Bradshaw know his intentions.

“I said, ‘Bradshaw, son, you’ve got the arm, you certainly have the desire to be a great pro football player. You got the brains.’ He said, ‘You think so?’ He only questioned me about the brain power. I said, ‘Hey, you got enough sense. Look, when you get to adding up the IQs running around out there on Sunday evenings, it might surprise you. You got a good strong arm. You’ll do well, my boy. I‘m going hunting ducks, because I just love it more than throwing touchdown passes, so good luck to you.’ Of course, he appreciated it because that moved him up to the No. 1 slot.”

So Robertson left football and, the following season, he hunted ducks while completing his degree.

A year or so later, though, a former Louisiana Tech teammate, running back Bob Brunet, was with the Redskins and thought Robertson could still make the team. Brunet told Robertson to come up and he would likely be the backup and earn about $60,000.

“At the time, $60,000 didn’t seem like a whole lot even in the ’60s,” says Phil, who worked as a teacher for a few years after earning his degree from Louisiana Tech and then earned his master’s degree in education, with a concentration in English. “I said, ‘I don’t know about that. I would miss duck season, you know? I’d have to be up there in some northern city.’ I said, ‘Brunet, you think I’d stay?’ He said, ‘I doubt it. You’d probably leave with the ducks, Robertson.’ I said, ‘Probably so.’”

“That’s when (future Hall of Fame coach Vince) Lombardi went to Washington for a few years right before he quit coaching…What (Brunet) said was, ‘We got this hotdog, Robertson, but you can beat him out easy.’ I said, ‘Who’s the hotdog?’ He said, ‘You’re not going to beat out (future Hall of Famer Sonny) Jurgenson. You’re not going to beat him out, but this hotdog, his backup, no problem.’ I said, ‘Who is he?’ He said, ‘Joe Theismann.’

Phil paused, smiled, then chuckled, recalling the conversation and how good Theismann became—a Super Bowl XVII champion, NFL MVP, and a two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection.

“(Brunet) said, ‘No problem, we’ve got him, hands down.’ ‘I may do it,’” Phil recalls says. “But I didn’t do it. I stayed with the ducks. But looking back on it, who knows if I’d gone up there, you know, I might not have ever run up on Jesus at 28.”

Kay, his wife, known as Miss Kay on the Duck Dynasty television show, says matter of factly, “You’d probably wound up dead.”

Bradshaw and Phil Robertson never forgot each other, though. Recently, a chance meeting in an airport reacquainted the former teammates.

“Forty-four years later, he runs me down in the airport and grabs me and I looked around and I said, ‘Good night Bradshaw, is that you?’ So he went to telling me about his ailments… ‘They broke my neck, they broke my ribs, they tore my knee up.’ He went to telling me about all the things that happened to him. I said, ‘I told you back there about 40-something years ago, I was going the less stressful route.’ He said, ‘You know, you ain’t done bad.’ I said, ‘Well, you did pretty well yourself, son; four Super Bowls.’ He said, ‘Well, now, you’re a movie star.’ I said, ‘There you go. Hey, we’ve both come out of it pretty good.’ It was good to see him. He’s a good guy. Bradshaw’s a good dude.”

Missing out on football, if you can phrase it that way, was put in perspective by Al Robertson, Phil’s oldest son. Like his dad, Al saw the bigger picture of his dad’s choices.

“Obviously, athletically, he had a talent and ability to get on a stage like a lot of athletes do, and use their ability to do this as well,” Al, says. “What’s ironic is, is that instead of (football), though, it’s like God had a another plan because (Duck Dynasty and the duck calling business) is something totally unique and different, even from what those (football players) do, which we respect…We look at that as sort of a forerunner way this whole ministry has unfolded as being a real movement of God that is unique and different. And in Dad’s case, he actually had an ability to do something totally unique and different and yet this other door (Duck Dynasty) was down the road that we wouldn’t even know. And now, we’re just now going through that door.”

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor at Sports Spectrum magazine. 

Where Are They Now? — Charlotte Smith

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It is called “The Shot” and, according to ESPNW writer Mechelle Voepel, it is “the most memorable moment in women’s NCAA Tournament history.”

That shot, by Charlotte Smith in the 1994 NCAA women’s basketball tournament, was a three-pointer at the buzzer that gave North Carolina a stunning 60-59 victory against then-perennial national power Louisiana Tech.

But Smith has accomplished more than just “The Shot” that people watch replays of each year during the NCAA Tournament. She was the most outstanding player of that tournament, she was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team, and she was an All-American, two-time All-ACC player, and the recipient of an ESPN ESPY as the Best Female College Basketball Player in 1995.

She went on to a successful 10-year ABL and WNBA professional career, was an assistant at North Carolina for 10 years, and she just finished her second season in her first head coaching role, at Elon, where the Phoenix finished third in the 11-team Southern Conference this season after finishing fourth the previous season.

And, she’s also an author of a new book, When Coaches Pray: A guide for every minute of the game of life. 

“I love to read the Bible, so initially I was just reading and just writing, and as the Spirit led it led into some devotionals,” Smith tells Sports Spectrum concerning why she wrote the book. “I love to do Bible study on the road with my team…I just started accumulating a lot of writings, and just in my career as a coach, I really started to see the need for coaches to be empowered and coaches to be reminded of why we coach.”

She likens her coaching style to the quiet leadership of a Tony Dungy, but admitted that when she needs to come down on the team she can do it in the right way.

“Every now and then you have to rattle the cage a little bit,” she says. “But I know how to do it in such a way that I get my point across. The Bible says, “Become angry, but do not sin.” (Ephesians 4:26) I know how to get my point across without getting out of the character of Christ.”

Smith knows the struggles of players, coaches and people in general, as she related a story of her own personal struggles while she was playing professionally, and not feeling like she could be used. Then, she sensed God wanted her to start a Bible study with her team. Even though she was reluctant, she obeyed God’s call.

“A lady that worked for a camera crew at the games, so we invited her to one of our Bible studies at that time,” Smith tells Sports Spectrum. “You know you never really know what people are going through, and God puts people in your life for a reason and in your path for a reason. I didn’t know the lady, but I just felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to invite her to our Bible study. And, then a few days later, I got an email from her. In the subject line, I’ll never forget, it said, did you know that you were my angel? And she talked about how she, too, was going through a horrible marriage, a bad marriage, at the time. I’m going through the same thing. She talked about how she was so depressed, that that very day, right before I invited her to the Bible study, she decided she was going to go to the bank and withdraw money to purchase a gun and commit suicide. And how just being part of that Bible study and that day changed her life, changed her perspective and gave her hope. The Bible says that He works all things together for the good (Romans 8:28), and having gone through those struggles in my marriage, I can see how He used that for good. Because I think about if I had never started the Bible study, never invited her to the Bible study, maybe her life would have been different.”

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine.

Devotion of the Week — Sin and defeat

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“So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted and became like water.” Joshua 7:4-5

The year was 1991 and the Duke men’s basketball team was in the Final Four, facing an undefeated and defending NCAA champion UNLV team that had beaten Duke 103-73 for the national championship the previous year in the most lopsided title game in NCAA history.

For anyone but Duke’s players, coaches and the players’ parents to think they had a chance in 1991 was laughable. But Duke pulled it off, upsetting UNLV in the semifinal and going on to win their first NCAA Championship and then repeating as champion the following season.

Duke was a failure (and in a huge way), then they were champions. Like Duke, Israel was defeated in an embarrassing way as we see in Joshua 7:4-5. The defeat at the hands of Ai was so devastating that “the hearts of the people melted and became like water.” Israel’s defeat, though, was caused by the sin of one man, Achan. After that sin was dealt with, Joshua 8 tells us that Israel defeated Ai.

It’s a great reminder that our sin affects others, not just us. Live in such a way that you please God and Him only; then you will experience true victory in life.

By Brett Honeycutt

To read a year’s worth of sports-related devotionals, log in under the “Magazine” tab on sportsspectrum.com and click on “Training Table.” 

Airing It Out — Winning = Happiness?

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Mountaintop experience. Overwhelming. Elation. Joy. Happiness. Freedom.

Those words would aptly describe the feelings of most players and coaches who win the Super Bowl, the most popular sporting event in the U.S. as evidenced by the record-breaking number of television viewers the last three Super Bowls (more than 111 million watched last year’s game making it the most-watched TV show in U.S. history).

But for some players and coaches, those descriptions above only add to the confusion of winning America’s biggest sports prize.

Tom Brady famously told 60 Minutes reporter Steve Kroft: “Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.”

Kroft then asked, “What’s the answer?”

Brady replied, “I wish I knew. I wish I knew. I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.”

Brady has won three Super Bowls, yet he still admits being unfulfilled, unsatisfied and that he’s “trying to find” something.

For most, his remarks seem incomprehensible.

To me, as a Christian, they make sense and only confirm what God says in His Word about achieving things that are temporary.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” I John 2:17

It makes sense, not because I’m a biblical scholar (I’m not), but because of hearing someone like Brady question why he can’t be satisfied.

Remember, he has reached the pinnacle of the sports world and, outside of that, he would seem to have it all.

He’s a millionaire (often we hear people say that money will solve their problems).

He is famous (he is an NFL quarterback who also models and does commercials, and people would say that fame brings contentment).

He is married (singles often desire this because they feel it will complete them).

He is married to a model (as shallow as it seems, others often comment how lucky someone must be to marry a model or someone like a model).

And he has children (how often have we heard someone say that they long to raise a family and that it would make them happy to raise children?).

I’m sorry, but it’s a lie.

It’s the carrot dangling in front of you that is unattainable.

I’m not talking about the money, fame, and seemingly perfect relationship being unattainable (because some have been, are and will be blessed like that). I’m talking about what all of that is supposed to bring–happiness, joy, freedom.

Those things are unattainable apart from God.

Why is that true? Not because Tom Brady questioned it and had a reflective moment where he was confused. He only affirmed why it makes sense.

It’s because God told us that’s how we will feel if we chase after temporal things.

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” I Corinthians 3:10-15.

By Brett Honeycutt

This column was published in the February 2013 Sports Spectrum DigiMag. Print and digital subscribers, log in and view the issue here. Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. His column addresses topics from a biblical perspective. Follow him on Twitter-@Brett_Honeycutt. 

Lesson Learned

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Vernon Davis had just made a seven-yard catch, and after being tackled he slapped the helmet of a Seattle Seahawks defender that resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty.

Normally that would be the end of the story, with a few mentions on ESPN that day or in the sports section the following day. But for Davis it was only the beginning.

As he walked to the sideline on that Oct. 26, 2008, day at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, with his team headed to a humiliating 34-13 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks and a dismal 2-6 record, newly appointed head coach Mike Singletary, a Hall of Fame player, benched Davis. After thinking a little, though, Singletary went over to Davis and kicked him off the field.

At some point Davis demanded to be traded and Singletary bluntly said he would oblige.

After the game, Singletary stood at the podium in the press conference and let his frustration with the former No. 6 overall pick be known to everyone in a now infamous rant.

“Vernon is just…It was something that I told everybody at the very beginning of the week. I will not tolerate players that think it’s about them, when it’s about the team,” Singletary said. “And we can not make, we can not make decisions that cost the team and then come off the sidelines and be nonchalant. No. You know what? This is how I believe, I’m from the old school, I believe this: I would rather play with 10 people and just get penalized all the way until we gotta do something else, rather than play with 11 when I know that right now that person is not sold out to be a part of this team. It is more about them than it is about the team. Can not play with them, can not win with them, can not coach with them, can not do it. I want winners. I want people that want to win.”

It looked as if Davis would be one of those high-priced draft picks that just didn’t pan out. Someone whose ego was bigger than his helmet.

But that was then.

Fast forward to this season: Davis is in the Super Bowl, and he has acknowledged how much that incident paved the way for his success as a person.

“I came in with the attitude to catch balls and get statistics and things like that,” he said at Super Bowl Media Day this week. “I didn’t care about the team. I was about Vernon, always but now I could care less about catching balls and getting statistics because I understand that the team is much bigger.”

“I didn’t look at it from a team standpoint,” he told USA Today. “I grew. Coach (Mike) Singletary was here, and he helped me make that transition from a boy to a young man. I’m very thankful for that. I thank God for that.”

But events in Davis’ life, on or off the field, aren’t just by chance, he says. God orchestrates everything.

When asked about luck on Tuesday at Super Bowl media day, Davis said the team’s success can’t be tied to something as trivial as that.

“I don’t think that this is a game of luck,” Davis said. “I don’t really believe in luck, I believe in God. I believe that He’s always the way, He’s the answer, so prayer is important to me. So as far as luck, it doesn’t really stick to me.”

That faith in Christ has been a huge part of his transformation.

“My faith as far as keeping me focused kind of works hand-in-hand,” said Davis at Super Bowl Media Day. ”When I’m playing the game my faith is what keeps me going, keeps me humble, it makes me a leader. As far as off of the field I can stay away from the negativity that life brings you and that transforms me into a leader as well because I can go back and implement what I do off of the field to my teammates.”

“I want people to remember that I was a man of God, I was a leader and that I was dedicated to this game. I also want them to remember that I gave this game everything that I had as a tight end. I gave it everything. I gave it my all.”

SIDEBAR: ARTISTRY IN MOTION

Vernon Davis continues to surprise people, but it’s not only because of his personal transformation from ego-inflated NFL star to team-first, God-honoring player.

Davis has an artistic side, but he was reluctant to show that as a child who grew up in Washington, D.C. because he thought people would make fun of him. He revealed that side on Dec. 12 in San Jose where he opened Gallery 85 (a nod to his jersey number) to help support the Vernon Davis Foundation for the Arts, which promotes arts education and art appreciation for at-risk youth.

At the invitation-only event, where Davis wore a salmon-colored sports coat, he talked about his love for art while showcasing some of his own work and the works of other artists from that area, including youth. One in particular, Niyjale Cummings, was the recipient of the Vernon Davis Visual Arts Scholarship – another way that Davis is showing his love for the arts.

“This is something I’ve been building toward for years,” Davis told the San Jose Mercury News. “Speaking for the 49ers, we’re proud to be part of one of America’s future cities.”

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor at Sports Spectrum magazine.

Reggie White – Minister of Defense

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Editor’s note: This story was originally published in Sports Spectrum’s 25-year anniversary issue. To order a copy, please go to www.sportsspectrum.com/sstore/.

Reggie White is best remembered as the “Minister of Defense,” a nickname given to him because he was an ordained minister (at age 17) and a great defensive player.

White, who died Dec. 26, 2004, in Huntersville, N.C., from cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 43, was named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams 13 times during his 15-year career and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, 13 months after his death.

In 2005, his jersey number (92) was retired by theUniversityofTennessee, the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles. It was the first time a person had his number retired by two NFL teams.

The accolades seem endless (two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year; second all-time in sacks; NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, 1990’s All-Decade Team and 1980’s All-Decade Team), but his faith was why we, at Sports Spectrum, wrote about him numerous times during his professional career, which began with the USFL’s Memphis Showboats in 1984 and ended with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in 2000.

Passionate is the best word to describe White’s faith, which was more than evident in his life in and outside of football. He married his wife Sara, who was just as passionate about her faith, when they were 21. They had a son, Jeremy, and a daughter, Jecolia.

Below are excerpts from four interviews done for Sports Spectrum by Tom Felton, Roman GabrielIII, Kyle Rote Jr. and Jim Gibbs. In these excerpts, we hope you are encouraged in your faith to live a life more in love with Christ.  – Brett Honeycutt

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Reggie White on family and helping others through Urban Hope

 Sports Spectrum: You and your wife Sara seem to be true partners in life.

Reggie: We do a lot together. God has made me realize that Sara is just as much a part of the ministry as I am. There was a time we went to a prison. I got up and shared, and I gave an invitation for Christ. About seven prisoners came down to give their life to the Lord. Sara felt the Lord put something on her heart to say, and when she did, 10 other prisoners came down!

 Sports Spectrum: One of your exciting strategies involves Urban Hope (a ministry started when Reggie and his wife, Sara, were inGreen Bay). Tell us about this venture.

Reggie: Urban Hope is being run inGreen Bay. We train entrepreneurs. They go through a 12-week course and learn how to put together a strong business plan. We give each of the two students with the best business plans a $2,500 grant. They can put that into their business. Because of the relationship we have with the business people, the bankers, and the government, we can be confident they can take their business plan to the bank. Over the past two years, we’ve had a part in helping start over 55 businesses in the area. It’s going real well, and it’s having a spiritual effect on the students. We share Christ with them and try to live out Christ before them.

 

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Reggie White helped the Green Bay Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998. The Packers beat the New England Patriots 35-21 in 1997.

 Sports Spectrum: Looking back, what are your most vivid Super Bowl memories?

Reggie: Well, of course breaking the record (three sacks in one Super Bowl). That was a big accomplishment, and winning the game was a big accomplishment. But I remember waking up the next morning – I was worn out, and we went back toGreen Bay for the parade. The next day was the parade – it was a long day. The next day Sara and I flew toHawaii for the Pro Bowl. A month later, we had a mini-camp, followed by another two weeks later, and again a month after that. Four weeks later – training camp. I really wasn’t able to enjoy the year.

I think God showed me that there is more to life – to let the whole world know about Jesus. I think that was even bigger than winning the game.

Sports Spectrum: Two years ago, the Super Bowl win was an apex for you. Last year you went to the Super Bowl, and the Packers ended up losing the big game. You also had all of the physical problems to get there and then other problems later. How was your faith tested in the past year?

Reggie: It was a difficult year. With the Broncos, I think we underestimated them. But they did a good job. They did an excellent job of running the ball. That’s why they beat us. They didn’t beat us in the air, they beat us on the ground. We didn’t play well enough for us to win. The Broncos were an excellent team.

There was a lot going on in my life last year. There was losing that game and then going to speak to theWisconsinstate assembly and the problems with my back.

But I’ll tell you what, this was probably the best year of my life spiritually. God showed me that a lot of times when you go through hardships, that draws you closer to Him. In the midst of the difficulty, it turned into excitement because I saw God move like I’ve never seen Him move before.

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 Reggie White came out of a one-year retirement to play for the Carolina Panthers in 2000. He played one season and retired for good after that season.

 Sports Spectrum: Reggie, let’s talk about your year. What was that like?

Reggie: It was a lot of fun. What’s exciting about it is that my wife, my friends, and I really saw God in my coming back. We really saw the Lord giving me strength to endure with my back and take the pain so I could perform at a high level. It’s been exciting. It’s great to see how God works, because everybody was saying I can’t do it. Some people were ridiculing me for saying that God spoke to me, but the way the Lord has allowed me to come out has been tremendous. Some people say, “Hey, maybe we shouldn’t underestimate what He said.”

Sports Spectrum: You went through a lot for pain with your back a year ago. With that physical pain, how difficult was it to make the decision to play again?

Reggie: That was extremely difficult. Nobody knew what I was going through. Nobody saw me on Mondays when I was walking like I was 80 years old. I had to battle with it all week – go out and practice and try to keep my level of play up. I not only dealt with a bad back, I caught pneumonia in the middle of the season and my blood count was low. Also, I had a rare lung disease, which caused lumps to grow on my lungs. It was affecting my wind. So I was struggling with all of that. I lost my strength and lost some weight, but I was still able to come out with good numbers. I didn’t want to come off the field. I tried to help the team as much as possible.

Only Jesus could give me the strength to be able to endure that.

In the process of struggling with my back during the offseason, I thought I would retire. And the Lord pretty much told me, no I want you to play one more year. I went from a sense of disappointment to excitement when He spoke to me.

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On what some considered a controversial speech to the Wisconsin legislature and his comments on homosexuality, which was highlighted in his speech:

 Sports Spectrum: A lot of people have heard about the speech you gave to theWisconsin legislature and then the commercial you did against same-sex marriages. What has been the reaction of people around the league to the stand you took?

Reggie: “Well, there hasn’t been one single person I’ve played against or with who has come up to me and said, ‘You’re crazy.’ There has not been a single person who talked to me and said, ‘I disagree with you.’ I can handle disagreements. Most people who disagree with me have disagreed with me behind either a radio microphone or TV camera. Some of those guys come in our locker room every day, yet they haven’t been man enough to come to me and say, ‘I disagree with you.’ I can’t respect that type of person. I look at that kind of person as a coward. If he comes to me and says, ‘I disagree with you, tell me if you disagree with me,’ I can handle that. But to say you disagree with me and not be man enough to say it to my face, I don’t have too much respect for that person.”

Sports Spectrum: The homosexual groups were obviously upset with what you said. What do you say to someone who says, referring to the newspaper ads. “He should have been wearing a minister’s grab, not his Packers uniform.”

Reggie: “Even if I didn’t wear a Packers uniform, they would be offended. These people have no problem with me, they have a problem with God Himself.

I hear so many of them saying that God is love, and yes, God is a God of love. But the Bible says He’s also a God of vengeance (Psalm 34:1). God wants us to give him the same type of love He’s shown us. God is a holy God. And the Bible says we should be holy, even as He is holy (I Peter1:16).

So many people say, ‘That’s your interpretation of the Scripture.’ Well, if the Bible says, ‘Unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven’ (John 3:3), that’s not my interpretation, that’s what the Bible says. If the Bible says a man can’t sleep with a man as he sleeps with a woman (Leviticus18:22, Romans1:26-27), that’s not an interpretation, that’s what the Scripture says. If the Bible says a man should not commit adultery (Exodus20:14), or that the wicked man who is into fornication will not enter the kingdom of heaven (I Corinthians 6:9-10) – that’s not an interpretation, that’s what the Bible says. It’s plain and simple.”

Sports Spectrum: What would you tell the homosexual community or people searching and confused?

Reggie: It took somebody to tell me I was wrong. That I was in sin. For me to turn my life around, it took somebody to challenge me and let me know where I was. In the process, it took them to show me in the Word. The only thing I would say to those who would disagree with me is this: Go and read the Scriptures for yourself.

There are many people, not only homosexuals, living in sin. I mean, inAmerica, adultery is all right because people say everybody is doing it. Fornication is all right because people say well, everybody’s doing it. Lying is all right because everybody else is doing it. The Bible says it’s not all right.

Go and read the Scriptures for yourself, and stay in it, because sooner or later, God is going to change you. You’re going to experience His love like you’ve never experienced it before. People may have a disapproval of what I said, but I would challenge everybody to read the Scriptures for yourself and let the Scriptures speak to you. I’ll promise you that sooner or later, it’s going to hit you hard and deliverance will come to your life.

Sports Spectrum: After 14 years in the NFL, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from the game?

Reggie: Teamwork. When we won the Super Bowl, the players weren’t the only ones who got rings. The coaches got rings, our wives got rings, the ticket guys got rings, the equipment guys, the trainers. The publicity guys. Everybody got a ring. The secretaries. And everybody understood where they stood. And I think when the body of Christ learns what teamwork is all about, then we’ll really see revival.

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 On how he wanted people to remember him, not only on the field but outside of football.

 Sports Spectrum: How would you like people to remember you in terms of a football player and a person?

 Reggie: For people to remember my life, Sarah, and me, as people who loved God. I want people to be able to say to my children, “You know that your mom and dad were a woman and a man after God’s heart.” I want my grandchildren to be able to say that to their children. That’s the legacy I want to leave. I want people to say that Reggie and Sarah were a man and woman of God. That would mean more to me than anything.

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On the prayer circle, which players from each team form after games so they can pray together. White was one of the first to utilize this and continued it even after the NFL threatened to fine players.

Sports Spectrum: Tell us how the post-game prayer circles came about:

Reggie: That came about, I think, the year the Giants and the Bills played in the Super Bowl. Some of the guys started praying after the games together. The next year the NFL had made up a rule where they were going to stop players from fraternizing and talking after the game, which would eliminate the prayers. Now, I don’t know if the NFL was really going tout to stop guys from praying, but it was discussed that they were. But when we went toLondon to play the Buffalo Bills, some of the Bills players and I were determined to pray. Many people said, “Well, the NFL will fine you.” But we weren’t going to be intimidated to stop praying and talking to God.”

That’s something that’s continued, and a lot of brothers around the league want to do it. It’s just giving God credit for giving us the opportunity to be on the field. I believe we’re blessed to be able to be in the game.

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On leaving Philadelphia to go play for Green Bay:

 Sports Spectrum: You’ve always been very clear that one of the reasons you went to Green Bay was that you felt that it gave you a good chance to get to the Super Bowl. Tell us about your goals in sports, and how they match up with your goals for the other things in your life.

Reggie: Playing football is helping me in my spiritual life because it’s helping to build my character, and it has allowed me to see a lot of things that a lot of other people won’t be able to see – to experience some things that people are experiencing, but not on the level that we’re experiencing it. It’s also teaching me what the more important things are, like my family and, of course, God himself. If I leave this game without a championship (which he didn’t), I know that I will leave this game prepared for whatever God is going to do with me after I’ve finished playing.

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 On knowing God

 How do we know that God is real or that Christ is who He said he is?

Reggie: The thing is that I know. Some people just don’t want to know. You look at atheists. They know there’s a God. They know if there wasn’t, they wouldn’t be fighting so hard to disprove that there is no God. You look at Madalyn Murray O’Hare, a woman who says she doesn’t believe in God and yet she is a woman who has spent her whole life trying to get God out of the schools. I know God is real. I know personally He’s real and a lot of other people know God is real and, as I say, people either don’t know or they don’t want to believe. The Bible says that a natural man does not understand the things of the Spirit. That’s the only way you can really explain it.

White says that it is also difficult to explain to some people why just being a good person and believing in God is not good enough.

Reggie: A lot of people just can’t understand why they need a relationship with Christ. I’ll try to tell them about Jesus and they’ll say, “Well, I believe in God.’ But I tell people that there’s a difference between ‘belief’ and having faith in God. There are a lot of people who believe in God but are going to hell. And the Bible says that even the demons believe in the truth. They believe in God and yet they don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. What it boils down to is having a personal relationship with Christ.”

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That relationship with God? It’s what White spent his life telling others. He didn’t just play football or see football as a means in and of itself. He saw it as a vehicle to help him share Christ with others, and he was good at both – playing football and living a life so in love with Christ that others couldn’t help but want what he had.

Tom Landry – Man of Honor

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Editor’s note: This story was originally published in Sports Spectrum’s 25-year anniversary issue. To order a copy, please go to www.sportsspectrum.com/sstore/.

 Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Thomas Wade Landry was born in a place with a name that’s a good description for his life – Mission.

As a young man he left that Texas town for his first task – taking to the air. No, he wasn’t developing serious hang-time as a punter, but he was serving three years and 30 B-17 missions as a first lieutenant in the Air Force during World War II.

After his last mission, he took to the field – first as a football player (All-Pro and Pro Bowl player in 1954 with the New York Giants) and later as a legendary gridiron coach, first as defensive coordinator with the Giants and most notably as head coach with the Dallas Cowboys.

Landry, who died from leukemia at age 75 on Feb. 12, 2000, will always be remembered as an innovative leader who projected a calm yet determined demeanor on the sidelines.

His trademark fedora hat gave him an air of sophistication and class – two terms that could also describe his team’s play over many seasons.

Through the years Landry had one primary calling. After committing his life to Christ at age 33, his desire was to serve his Lord.

One important Bible verse for Landry was II Timothy 1:7.

“It says Christ does not give us a spirit of fear,” Landry explained in an interview with Sports Spectrum. “But He gives us the power of love and self-control.”
“For a football coach, that really helped,” he said, chuckling.

He invented the now-famous 4-3 defense and flex defense and also the shot-gun formation for offenses.

Landry’s innovative style helped him compile a record of 270-178-6, and lead the Cowboys to five NFC titles and five Super Bowls, winning two (Super Bowl VI in 1972, and XII in 1978) and 13 divisional titles. His 20 playoff wins as a coach are an NFL-best and his total victories are third all-time.

“For a professional athlete, the most exciting thing is when you win your first Super Bowl,” said Landry. “To play in one and win is the highlight of our football career.”
More impressive than walking the sidelines as Dallas’ head coach for 29 years (1960-1988) was the NFL-record 20 consecutive winning seasons with the Cowboys (1966-1985).

After he was finished with coaching, the two-time Super Bowl champion coach continued to keep a super schedule. He spoke several times each week and continued to work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served on the Dallas International Sports Commission among other activities.

Landry, who continued to teach Sunday School after he retired from coaching, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

Despite having losing records his last three seasons, Cowboys fans still loved Landry and were upset at new owner Jerry Jones after he fired Landry and hired Jones’ college teammate, Jimmy Johnson.

Three years later in 1993, though, Jones inducted Landry into the Cowboys’ famed “Ring of Honor” that honors past greats for the Dallas Cowboys.

When Landry died in 2000, leaving behind his wife, Alicia, of 51 years, the Cowboys honored him by wearing a patch of Landry’s fedora that season. He and Alicia had three children (Tom Landry Jr., Kitty Phillips and Lisa Childers, who died in 1995 after battling liver cancer) and six grandchildren.

The next season, in 2001, the Cowboys built a nine-foot, bronze statue that stood in front of Texas Stadium and is now in front of the new $1.1 billion Cowboys Stadium.
Also that same year, a portion of I-30 was named Tom Landry Highway and two football stadiums (in his hometown of Mission and at Trinity Christian in Addison, Texas) were each named Tom Landry Stadium.

Honoring a man like Landry was easy.

Living up to what he accomplished on the field and in his personal life would be difficult for anyone.

Coach, family man (his favorite activity was to relax with his wife, kids, and grandchildren), scholar (he has business and industrial engineering degrees), speaker, businessman.

These words helped describe the unique man under the hat. To find out more about this man with a mission, read his autobiography, Tom Landry.

But that wasn’t the most important book in his life.

“To me, the Bible is everything.” he said.

Sports Spectrum Managing Editor Brett Honeycutt contributed to this story.

Airing It Out — The Te’o saga, what really went wrong

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Odd. Bizarre. Baffling. Strange. Stunning. Mesmerizing. Absurd. Dumbfounding. Crazy. Embarrassing. Weird. Twisted.

Can anything truly describe the curiously interesting story surrounding Manti Te’o, the most-decorated football player in Notre Dame’s recent history?

On Jan. 16, a story broke on deadspin.com that Te’o’s girlfriend (the one who had died from leukemia in September, only hours after Te’o’s grandmother died), was a hoax.

Deadspin’s slant seemed to imply that Te’o was in on the ruse. The story ignited a firestorm on Twitter, and the rest of the internet world, where fans, along with some in the media, agreed and began calling Te’o a liar and a fraud. We learned about the TV show “Catfish” and psychological terms like “confirmation bias.”

The thing that stood out the most, though, was the reminder that media love to rush a great story into print or onto the web, whether it’s true or not.

Judgments abounded about Te’o, good and bad. Whether or not they were true didn’t matter. Reporters told you first (good and bad), and that’s what counted.

The pompous and arrogant nature of our media culture reared its ugly head, disguising itself in a quest for what they called the “truth,” as if they created the definition.

They were entitled to every piece of information about Te’o’s life, and regardless if what they reported was true the first time, they were going to tell you the truth this time—despite not talking to Te’o or the purported mastermind of the hoax, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo.

The media’s reasoning?

It was somewhat twisted, if not ironic, and went something like this: “We know you were involved, just like we knew your girlfriend was real. And, well, this is truth because we just believe it is. And, well, even though we have condemned you without talking to you, we deserve answers! Now! You liar!”

That’s the arrogance behind the reasoning, albeit twisted. And that’s the mainstream media in a nutshell, especially in this social-media driven world where speed trumps accuracy (I reference the Associated Press story that came out after the Newtown, Conn., shootings, apologizing for getting so many facts wrong.)

Seems some in the mainstream media didn’t read that apology or didn’t learn the lesson.

After Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick held a press conference the night the Deadspin story came out, explaining the complexity of the hoax, that they had hired an independent, national private investigation firm, that Te’o wasn’t a part of the scam, that he’d been duped similar to what the TV show “Catfish” portrays, the media didn’t buy it.

Reporters, though, trying to be neutral by playing both sides of the Te’o story, said they didn’t know who to believe. Usually, though, while trying to play both sides, they ended up on one side, questioning Te’o’s character by subtly implying he was involved or arrogantly saying he was involved—even though they hadn’t talked to him and weren’t sure.

Te’o talked two days later, but that was too long for most.

What we’ve learned since is that Tuiasosopo has confessed to multiple people, including a friend from church and the woman whose picture he used to start the ruse, that he was the mastermind behind that hoax and that Te’o didn’t know.

Most disturbing, though, is the media’s handling of what Te’o told Schaap and later Katie Couric in exclusive interviews after Jan. 16. Te’o told both that after he received a phone call on Dec. 6 that it was a hoax. He said after the call he was shocked, confused, his emotions were all over the place, and that he didn’t know if that was even true. He then did interviews several days later talking about his girlfriend’s death as if it happened.

Schaap believed him, saying he understood and that it was plausible that Te’o really still thought his girlfriend was dead and that the phone call on Dec. 6 was some type of sick prank.

Most in the media didn’t buy that either.

It was as if they had the thread they so desperately wanted and needed to hang their argument on, so they could be redeemed from this mess they created because of their rush to tell a good story or to beat their competition.

They were on a crusade for the truth, but until they heard what they considered the truth, it wouldn’t be true.

But are we any different?

Despite all of the mind-boggling information, we have to remember not to rush to judgment. We (that includes the media, you, and me), have all done it—in our minds, with our mouths, or through our actions. With our family, friends, neighbors, politicians, and even Manti Te’o.

Fortunately, though, we aren’t God.

Only one person can claim to be all knowing—and we, as Christians, don’t need a reporter to tell us that.

By Brett Honeycutt

This column was published in the January 2013 Sports Spectrum DigiMag. Print and digital subscribers, log in and view the issue here. Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. His column addresses topics from a biblical perspective. Follow him on Twitter-@Brett_Honeycutt. 

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