ESPN Analyst Fran Fraschilla Declares ‘Jesus Died for Me’

Published: November 21, 2023

ESPN Analyst Fran Fraschilla Declares ‘Jesus Died for Me’

By Movieguide® Contributor

Former Division I basketball head coach and ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla joined the “Sports Spectrum” podcast to discuss his faith and what his relationship with Jesus looks like as he gets older.

Fraschilla began by explaining his faith walk.

“Well, I know Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I know that [by] His grace, no matter how much of a sinner I am, that I’m saved,” Fraschilla said. “But I also believe you gotta walk your walk too. I don’t know that he actually said this, because I’ve looked this up, but Saint Francis of Assisi, who I was named after, said, ‘Preach always and if necessary, use words.’ I don’t know that he actually said it ’cause I’ve gone on Google and tried to clear that, but I try to live my life that way.”

As he’s gotten older, his faith has grown.

“I also think in recent years, particularly now, as I’m going to be I’m 65, there’s an intentionality to making sure that I can be right with my Savior,” he continued. “I can tell you this past summer, because of all these crazy 2-hour walks in the mountains, I’ve listened to the whole Old Testament. I started with Genesis, and I’ve gotten through some Psalms and Proverbs and First and Second Kings. I say that because I don’t want to just say that I’m a Christian and I believe that Jesus died for me. I want to know the Bible.”

“I have faith. I believe that when the Lord takes me home that I’m going with him, and I’m going to see my family, and I’m going to heaven, and all these things, but I also want to know what those early Christians were thinking when they were being persecuted and yet they never gave up their faith in Christ,” Fraschilla concluded.

“Fran Fraschilla has covered basketball at ESPN since 2003. Prior to joining ESPN, he was a Division I coach with Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico. He was the 1995 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and took his teams to three NCAA Tournaments and eight overall postseason berths in nine seasons,” Sports Spectrum wrote.

Fraschilla often uses his social media account to profess his faith. In a recent picture he uploaded onto his X page, Fraschilla wrote, “G.K Chesterton once said, ‘The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.’ I never get bored with what God created.”