At a time when headlines from the world of sports have more to do with woke politics than athletic excellence, the sight of a sports star proclaiming the Christian faith feels like its own form of redemption.
That was on display in the NFL playoffs, when stars like the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud weren’t shy about their strong beliefs.
Now, in the NBA, Detroit Pistons guard Jason Ivey is going viral for, essentially, telling fans to repent and believe in the Gospel.
In a clip shared to the social media platform X from a post-game conference Thursday, Ivey, after answering questions from the reporters, reveals he has something to say that’s about more than basketball.
#Pistons Guard Jaden Ivey said in a postgame press conference, “Jesus is the way, the truth, the life” & that we need to wake up and follow Him 👏 pic.twitter.com/p6LsWrgTcZ
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) March 12, 2024
“Before we leave,” he said, “I just wanted to … First I just want to say that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and the world that’s hearing this message, the kingdom of Heaven is near.”
He continued, saying “Jesus is coming back, and we all have to repent for our sins. And we have to put our faith in Jesus, he will come back when you least expect it.”
Finally, he ended his plea to the world with one last mic drop: “It’s time to wake up. If you haven’t, put your faith in Jesus Christ.”
Do you agree with Jordan Ivey?
For an NBA player to proclaim his faith in Christ and the necessity of repentance to a national audience, in this day and age, is a welcome relief.
While the individual faith and moral character of sports players vary wildly, it’s usually the most degenerate among them that tend to make the headlines, unfortunately.
That’s probably in no small part due to the fact that the NBA as a whole tends to be a pretty godless operation.
The National Basketball Association as an organization, and too many of its players and coaches, publicly push progressive causes like the Black Lives Matter movement and “transgender” issues, seeking all manner of virtue-signaling brownie points with the liberal media.
For instance, in October, the NBA ecstatically announced — to an indifferent audience of basketball fans — that it was adding a “transgender” and “non-binary” referee to its lineup.
Likewise, in the wake of the violent riots plaguing the country in the summer of 2020, the league magnanimously declared it would display the message “Black Lives Matter” at all of its games that upcoming season.
The NBA does everything in its power to publicly appeal to the far left, at the expense of the more conservative and religious among its fans, or even among its own players, as Ivey’s words plainly show us.
(And that doesn’t even count the regular kowtowing to China and the Chinese Communist Party that’s become almost expected in the NBA these days.)
It’s encouraging to see a player who has such public faith in Christ despite being entrenched in such a radically progressive organization.
It might be even more encouraging that he’s willing to share it so openly, regardless of the possible backlash he’ll no doubt receive.
Ivey deserves our support and our praise for proclaiming the Gospel in such a hostile environment.
Hopefully, more Christians in positions like his will gain a share of courage in spreading the word of God to the world.
