By Mallory Mattingly
Legendary NFL coach Tony Dungy expressed his gratitude for the recent uptick in college and NFL football players professing their faith in Jesus.
“It is so gratifying,” Dungy said on the “Sports Spectrum Podcast.” “I think what we’ve seen, it’s kind of started with some of the young quarterbacks coming in the NFL. C.J. Stroud getting up, and you know, they ask him a question, and he says, first of all, let me tell you where I’m at as a human being and as a person.”
“I think that kind of emboldened other guys to share their faith,” the coach continued. “We’re seeing it in the colleges, which has been awesome to see. So, it is really rewarding and fantastic.”
The Ohio State Football team led the college football season in expressing their faith on the field. The Buckeyes went a step further and put a cross on the inside of their championship ring to always remember Who got them there.
“To see those guys just be very, very bold about it but also say, ‘This is who we are, and we’re not going to be offensive about it, but we’re not going to hide it. This is who we are. We love Christ. We honor Christ.’ And it’s awesome to see,” Dungy continued.
Related: Faith-Filled NFL Coach Calls Texans QB C.J. Stroud ‘A Great Role Model’
When Dungy coached, he often spoke about the importance of winning, but he also made things clear that winning doesn’t mean just on the field.
“Number one, faith and family were important. Yes, I was gonna coach and put a lot into it, but I wasn’t gonna neglect those two things,” Dungy said on an episode of the “Jesus Calling Podcast.” “And then number two, I was gonna try to create an atmosphere — whether it was me coaching five individual players that I had, or a defensive unit, or eventually an entire team — I was gonna try to create that culture, that environment where we all worked together and we all tried to help each other be better.”
As Dungy moved up the ladder, some people weren’t ready for a coach who didn’t yell or use profanity. However, that didn’t stop Dungy from being different.
“I had to prove to people that you could do that and do it in a Christian manner,” he explained. “And that was fun in a lot of ways. But sometimes you felt like you were going against the grain a little bit. But I made a decision I was going to be different. And not everybody was ready for that.”
Like Dungy, we can be encouraged as we see so many college and NFL athletes use their God-given talents and platforms to give glory to Him.
Read Next: Tony Dungy Reveals The Moment He Put Faith First: ‘You’ve Got to Have Eternity in Mind’
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