The Minister of Defense

27 December 2004



Reggie White Was More than a Jock

When a man dies suddenly at the age of 43, it is a shock. When that man was a celebrity, those who have heard of him without knowing him have their mortality brought into clearer focus. When that celebrity turns out to have been a decent human being, it just seems down right wrong. That seems to be how the NFL and its fans feel about the untimely passing of The Minister of Defense, the Reverend Reggie White.

It is odd that the skills that made him a rich and famous person appear to have been the least important to him. Fifteen years of NFL football in Philadelphia, Green Bay and Carolina would be tops for most people. When he retired in 2000, he held the record for most sacks in a career with 198 (Bruce Smith has since surpassed this). He was picked for the Pro Bowl 13 consecutive years. He was NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and 1988.

At the same time, he was an ordained minister, and a founder of Christian Athletes United for Spiritual Empowerment. His retirement was not a cause for mourning, but rather just another thing to deal with. "I will always miss the locker room and the guys, but I know God's will for me to move on to other challenges because it's not in me like it used to be,” he said.

The best story about Reverend White on the field came from Duce Staley, against whom the Minister of Defense played. According to ESPN.com, the story goes, “"I remember when I was rookie with the Eagles filling in for Ricky Watters and I was playing against Reggie. I gave him a cut block and then got in his face and said some things to him out of emotion. He came over to me and said, 'Rookie, that was a good block, but remember what you are saying is to a Child of God.' That floored me and I wasn't the same the rest of the game. He was a remarkable person along with being a remarkable player."

That is not to say the man was a saint. He got himself into hot water over some “ethnically insensitive” remarks, and he found himself apologizing for that and for some statements about homosexuals that, quite possibly, were consistent with his brand of Christianity. But then, as he himself would point out, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”

At a time when trash-talking is de rigueur and when athletes believe too much of their own hype, the Reverend White was a refreshing change.

© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.

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