Dallas Cowboys Players Share How Their Christian Faith Impacts Them
During several recent interviews on "Cowboys Cast" with Bobby Belt, Dallas Cowboys Linebacker Justin March-Lillard, Fullback Jamize Olawale, and Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer talked openly about how their Christian faith is impacting their lives while on the NFL team.
"Cowboys Cast" is a weekly Dallas Cowboys-themed radio show that airs on several Texas radio stations. Belt recently interviewed a number of Dallas Cowboys players, and told The Christian Post he was "struck by how many of them spoke with great detail about their Christian faith."
During the last season of football, the Texas team were among the few groups in the league that made headlines for public displays of their Christian faith.
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A video posted by the team's chaplain, Jonathan Evans, son of Dr. Tony Evans and a former NFL fullback, in December went viral as it shows footage of some of the NFL players accepting Jesus Christ as their savior and getting baptized.
At the end of March, Linebacker Justin March-Lillard opened up on "Cowboys Cast" about what being baptized with his teammates last season meant to him.
"It was a great experience, a life-changing experience; something that I had wanted to do even before I got here. And then like I said, when I got here everyone treated me as family," March-Lillard said in the interview. "At that time, I was going through a situation in my life, the passing of my little brother, and everyone welcomed me and made me feel a part.
"Faith for me is the biggest aspect of life, and just having my faith be a little shook up at the same time I was coming to a new team, and having Pastor (Jonathan) Evans and my teammates to lean on, and actually strengthen my faith and make that a more solid foundation than it was prior, was amazing. It was a life-changing experience."
During a separate taping on April 2, Fullback Jamize Olawale also talked about Jesus when asked what impression he'd most like to leave with people.
"It's what Christ said during His ministry on the earth: to display God's love and His grace to anybody that I come in contact with," Olawale told CC. "That's my goal as a human being, whether I'm playing football, whether I'm in the community, whether I'm with my family, is just to live as Christ did and display His love to anybody that I come in contact with."
Just a few days after that, Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer described how his faith shapes his life.
"Oh man, I wouldn't be who I am today or where I am today without my faith and without the relationship I have with Christ," Switzer unapologetically stated on the Texas radio program. "Ultimately, I think what's helped me is knowing that everything that we have in this lifetime, and in this day and age, is all temporary. With our faith and what we believe, everything that we do now is working towards a bigger goal, and that's eternal life in Heaven."
The Cowboys player said having that state of mind puts everything he does in perspective.
"Things aren't always as bad as they seem, and they're never as good as they seem. It helps you stay at an even keel knowing that there's a greater purpose than what we're doing now. During the trials and tribulations, the adversity that we go through – you know, I know especially with (teammate) Justin [March-Lillard], and the things that he's shared with us that he's gone through, for him to be able to pull through that, for him to be able to still lean on his faith, has been inspiring to me," he continued.
"It's important, especially with what we're doing, and being seen in the public eye; how things can go wrong, and how people can try to turn on you, and how quickly one bad decision can ruin everything you've worked for. I think it's important to stay grounded with your faith, or whatever you believe in. Just make sure you stay grounded, keep things in perspective, and realize that you're here for a greater purpose."
To check out the podcast and listen to the full interviews on "Cowboys Cast," click HERE.
