NFL Safety Proclaims Bold Faith After Jaden Ivey’s Controversial Release

Published: April 6, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

New Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker made a bold statement on X that put Jesus on full display.

“I’d rather be canceled by society than rejected by Jesus,” Brisker wrote.

I’d rather be canceled by society than rejected by Jesus! 🙏🏽🏹🏹

— Quanny B. (@JaquanBrisker) April 1, 2026

Brisker’s comment came after the Chicago Bulls released shooting guard Jaden Ivey for calling out the NBA’s support for Pride Month. The Bulls organization called Ivey’s “conduct detrimental to the team,” but he said he was sounding off against the league’s celebration of “unrighteousness.”

“My conduct was not detrimental to the team,” Ivey said on the “PinPoint Podcast.” “That is a lie. I was a good teammate to those around me. I was a good teammate on the floor. I made the right plays. I did exactly what the coach asked me to do on a daily basis. Whatever was needed, whatever was required of me to do, I was willing. So, my conduct was not detrimental to the team.”

The athlete believes he was cut because he was sharing “the word of God.”

“It is strictly because I spoke the truth of the word of God and was preaching the Gospel,” the guard emphasized. “That’s why it was detrimental to the team. I witnessed to many on my team the truth and those things.”

“Everyone has their beliefs. Everyone believes in something. If someone can speak and curse and speak about unrighteousness about whatever it may be, then I can speak the truth, and that’s because my God says to speak the truth to the lost, to those who don’t know Jesus, to those who are not born again,” he continued.

He knows firsthand how God’s truth can redeem and save.

“I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m not ashamed to say it because God was merciful to keep me here,” Ivey said. “I almost committed suicide. I had Oxy pills in my hands, and my wife was telling me, ‘Don’t do it. Don’t do this. Don’t go down like this.’ And God was convicting me. And I didn’t know the truth. I didn’t do it by God’s grace. He kept me here.”

After Ivey was released, many people began to call him “crazy.”

“It’s really sad,” he admitted. “They don’t say to somebody who’s going to clubs, ‘Are you crazy?’ They don’t look to somebody that’s smoking weed, ‘Are you crazy?’ But to be the Christian proclaiming the truth, preaching the Gospel, I’m looked at as crazy and have a mental illness and I’m psycho and I need help and I’m crazy because I love God.”

“But I love God. I love my family, my children. I love them and will give my life for them and pour into them, and I’m going to do the will of God in Jesus’ name and do His will that He may be glorified. Not my will be done, but His will be done,” he added.

Alongside Brisker, other pro athletes signaled their support for Ivey.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” wrote TreVeyon Henderson, quoting Matthew 5:10.

New York Jets cornerback Azareye’h Thomas wrote in response, “The world will try to make sin look normal and righteousness look strange. Believer or not, every single person on earth will soon have an appointment before Jesus. So if living for Christ makes us look crazy or ‘weird,’ that’s okay because it isn’t strange to Christ. When it’s all said and done, we’ll give an account to an audience of One.”

It’s incredible to see athletes stand up for biblical values, even at the detriment of their own careers, knowing that their faith in Christ matters the most.

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