College Basketball Star Promised God This When He Battled Homelessness

Published: November 15, 2024

College Basketball Star Promised God This When He Battled Homelessness

By Movieguide® Contributor

Alabama A&M men’s basketball guard Darius Ford knows about trusting God amid trials.

Ford and his three younger siblings grew up facing many different obstacles including homelessness.

“For the majority of my life, I experienced a lot of traumatic experiences that not only shaped me into who I am but allowed me to learn more about life and people,” he told Sports Spectrum. “One of the biggest things that shaped me was battling homelessness as a child. I remember staying with relatives and staying in motels just to have a place to rest at night. The journey of navigating through that experience was a lot to bear at times, but it has brought myself and my family closer through an unbreakable bond.”

“On my 16th birthday, I remember acknowledging what a marker it was to be 16 and how you are supposed to be elated at this age marker. I was excited the whole day of just making it this far,” Ford continued. “Later that evening, I remember stepping out of the car looking at a motel that we had to stay in for that night. I instantly felt defeated and felt like there was nothing I could do to get out of this.”

For more inspiring sports stories, check out Sports Spectrum.

“I cried myself to bed the whole night, crying tears of regret and sorrow, feeling helpless in every way,” he recalled.

But he made a promise to God that changed his life.

“Before I went to sleep, I asked God if He could get me out of this, I would serve Him for the rest of my life,” Ford said.

And God did change Ford’s life through basketball. He became the first one in his family to go to college.

Due to COVID-19, there were no more roster spots available at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas. But TCU offered Ford a chance to be the manager, an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

He took on the new position and did everything to the best of his ability, hoping to eventually earn a spot on the roster.

His time finally came.

For the 2021-2022 season, Ford became a walk-on for TCU. While there, he not only helped his team to three consecutive March Madness appearances but also “spearheaded a clothing drive resulting in more than 1,000 items of clothing being donated to a local community center, and he created the Darius Ford Change Maker Scholarship, awarded to a high school student in the community,” Sports Spectrum said.

From the moment he moved into his dorm at TCU, Ford devoted his life to Jesus and decided to live for God’s glory every single day of his life.

Now he uses his platform to share Jesus with the world.

“Lord.. get the glory out of my life,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.