NFL Legend Teams With The Salvation Army for Selfless Act of Christmas Service
By Movieguide® Staff
Despite his prowess as a Super-Bowl champion as a player and coach, Tony Dungy recently went viral for an act of Christmas service.
The NFL icon recently partnered with the Salvation Army to help serve the community in front of a local grocery store.
“Tony Dungy won a Super Bowl as HC, Played in the NFL, Works as a studio analyst on NBC, But I respect him as a man more than anything he has done in football. Here he is (without any fanfare) quietly volunteering with The Salvation Army at the local grocery store-Servant leader,” Jay Feely, an NFL analyst for CBS Sports, caption a photo of Dungy on Twitter.
Tony Dungy won a Super Bowl as HC
Played in the NFL
Works as a studio analyst on NBC
But I respect him as a man more than anything he has done in football.
Here he is (without any fanfare) quietly volunteereing with The Salvation Army at the local grocery store-Servant leader pic.twitter.com/A5749xojsM— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) December 20, 2022
Earlier this month, Dungy tweeted out an announcement about a Red Kettle event which also helped provide for people in need this Christmas.
“We are out ringing bells for the Salvation Army Red Kettle at the Publix at the Apex in North Tampa. If you’re close come by and see us tonight and make a holiday donation for the needy!” he wrote on Twitter.
Dungy is open about his faith and his biblical values. In an interview with CBN’s 700 Club he revealed how his relationship with Jesus affects his coaching style.
“I tell my team a lot of being a great leader is knowing where you’re going and who you’re following. I think that’s very important. The best leaders are following Christ. That’s the best leader you can follow,” he said. “My favorite verse in the Bible is Matthew 16:26, where Christ says, ‘What would it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?'”
“If people didn’t know me and only knew my public persona, what I’d want them to know is everything that I do, I do for the Glory of the Lord, because of my Christian faith. That’s who I am,” Dungy added.
Movieguide® previously reported of Dungy:
Tony Dungy had Christian faith instilled in him from a very young age, but he recently revealed he didn’t take those lessons seriously until he was playing for the NFL.
“My mom was a Sunday School teacher. And she always talked about, ‘Hey, no matter what you do in life, you’ve got to put the Lord first, you’ve got to create that time for the Lord. You’ve got to do things for Him.’ And I heard it when I was a kid, but it didn’t really register,” Dungy shared. “My mom was telling me this the whole time, but it’s going in one ear and out the other.”
Dungy became a football star while playing for the University of Minnesota, and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after graduation.
It wasn’t until he joined the team that Dungy reconnected with his faith.
“I was 21 years old … and the first thing [head coach Chuck Noll] said to us, he said, ‘Men, I want to welcome you to the National Football League. You’re now going to get paid to play football. So that makes it your profession. But don’t make football your life. If you make football your whole life, you’re gonna be disappointed,’” he remembered. “And I was like, ‘Wow, are you kidding me?’ Well, up to this point, it kind of [had] been my whole life.”
After that, Dungy started spending more time with the 20 “really, really strong, committed Christian guys on that team.”
“And they invited me to Bible studies, and they invited me to chapel, and for the first time, I really started reading the Bible, trying to get out of it what those guys got out of it,” he continued.
The football coach said the situation reminded him of his mother’s favorite verse, Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
He explained, “That’s what these guys we’re trying to get through to my head. You’ve got to have eternity in mind. You can’t just focus on the sport. And I learned that as a 21-year-old, and that’s when I first started really carving out that time, going to chapels, going to players’ Bible studies, and really trying to grow in my faith.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
