What’s up with NFL Players like CJ Stroud thanking God?!?

Over the years, it’s become common for athletes to thank God in interviews.

Sometimes it’s a brief “thank God” followed by going on and on about how great they played.

Sometimes the same player who thanks God then gets caught doing something inconsistent with the Christian faith which leads to accusations of hypocrisy.

It causes some to wonder… if a player gives God the credit for the wins, does that mean He’s to blame for the losses?!?

This funny video takes that line of thinking to the next level.

CJ Stroud Press Conference

All that said, I thought what Houston Texans rookie quarterback CJ Stroud said in his press conference after the Texans beat the Browns this past Saturday was pretty awesome!

He started with what might be considered a boiler-plate Christian statement…

“It’s a blessing, man. Like I always do and more than ever I just thank God, thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s been a blessing. It’s been a heck of a year. I thank God I can just go another week with my teammates. This is like a dream come true as a reminder of how close we are as a team.”

But one of the reporters followed that by asking:

“CJ, you always talk about your Christian faith and Jesus Christ and God, and DeMeco [Ryans] talked about his faith and how blessed he was today and how blessed this team was. You’ve got to feel like God has a ton to do with where this team too don’t you.”

CJ took the ball and ran with it (pun intended)

“Yes sir. Yeah, for sure. I mean we have a lot of God-fearing Brothers on the team and God-fearing sisters in the staff, so I think definitely God is at the Forefront of our minds, and we play for audience of one.”

“Even when everything is going crazy you can lock in and just have peace you know. So, I’m blessed enough to even have a leader like DeMeco who’s open with his faith.”

“You know it’s hard like people hold you to a standard, and that’s what we want as Christian. You know we’re holding our own crosses and we’re trying to be like Christ as much as possible.”

“We make mistakes – we’re not perfect, you know – but at the same time we know that with God we can do all things who Christ strengthens us. So, just really blessed to to be part of just a great group of
God-fearring men.”

Watch the full interview below starting at 40:04.

CJ Stroud mentioned Texans head Coach DeMeco Ryans and his Christian faith. Check out his press conference at 15:07 in the same video

I commend both CJ and DeMeco for not just talking in generalities about their faith but being real specific about the way Jesus impacts the way they play and the whole team.

And because this Christian Web Trends blog is about application of internet technology in church and Christian faith…

Isn’t it awesome that the Texans and YouTube have made this video available for us to watch and share!

Comment and Discuss

• What do you think about athletes who thank God in their interviews?
• In what ways do videos like this, give you an opportunity to start spiritual conversations or share your faith online?

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