Demario Davis of the New Orleans Saints was the recipient of the NFL’s Bart Starr Award at Saturday’s NFL Breakfast during Super Bowl weekend. This devout Christian who wants to be a “walking billboard for Christ” took the opportunity to share the Gospel when he accepted the award.
This is a powerful award since it’s voted on by the players. It is given to someone who exhibits high character and service to their community.
Terry Bortz, director of the Super Bowl Breakfast said:
“Davis has distinguished himself as a quality person and a leader in the community, and we are thrilled to recognize him and his outstanding efforts.”
In the 2019 football season, the NFL fined Demario Davis for wearing a MAN OF GOD headband during a game. Rather than accept that fate, he challenged the decision and won against the league’s political correctness.
He also brought that message of God to Saturday’s breakfast.
BACKSTORY: NFL Fines Saints Player For Wearing Christian Headband
“I always hear when somebody wins an award they say ‘thank you’ to God, but I always wish they spent more time on that part,” Davis said in his acceptance speech. “I want to do that because I’m so grateful to Him.”
Davis became grounded in Christ when he was playing for Arkansas State with help from team Chaplain Chuck McElroy who challenged him and talked with him about leading a Christian life.
He also acknowledges that NY Jets Chaplains Adam Burt and Shino Prater were highly influential for him.
Davis said:
“He saved me from myself and he gave me a life. He also gave me purpose. So for that, I am forever indebted to God. I will always live on mission for Him.”
Prior to that, Davis made troubling decisions including one that ended him up in jail his freshman year.
But, Jesus can change everything and He did for Demario Davis. Now, Davis takes every opportunity to share the Gospel with others, including those in the NFL.
Davis has encountered roadblocks but he leans into God to help lead the way.
His young daughter Carly-Faith was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer, and had to have her eye removed.
Their faith led the Davis family though this terrifying time. In November, Carly-Faith was declared cancer-free and they credit God for this.
Faith is a family affair for the Davises. It encompasses their lives. Davis’s wife Tamela spoke with The Christian Post about their faith and how it helped lead them through Carly-Faith’s health crisis.
“People see the story, but we saw God,” Tamela told The Christian Post prior to Saturday’s award ceremony. “He provided us so much peace and comfort. In the removal of her eye, we saw so many other small miracles right before our eyes. We were able to see God’s hand in all of it.”
In November, Carly-Faith was declared cancer-free. Tamela said it was a moment that had God “written all over it.”
RELATED: NFL’s Demario Davis Is the Anti-Kaepernick With This Compelling Message For America
“Our primary mission has always been to be a walking billboard for Christ, so that others may be able to see and encounter Him through us and our experiences,” Demario’s wife Tamela told The Christian Post.
“No matter where we are, no matter who we’re speaking to, we can’t compromise who we are. We know Who we belong to,” she continued. “We want to make sure that we’re always being a good representation of who Christ is and that we’re able to invest and share all of our life experience in a way that reflects Him.”
You can watch Demario Davis’s acceptance speech in the video below.
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