I was reading through espn.com today and stumbled across this article about Detroit Lion's quarterback Jon Kitna. I'm sure many reading this blog will remember Kitna from the 5 years he played in Cincy, and especially the fine he got for wearing non-NFL sanctioned apparel, aka black hat with an orange cross on it, although the league eventually rescinded the fine.
Anyways, it's always great to hear stories of players being really serious about their faith in Christ, especially when it impacts a team in the way Kitna has impacted Detroit. No, I'm not talking about the 6-2 record (although some have taken to calling the Lion's "God's team" because of Kitna). But rather, the fact that Kitna currently hosts a bible study every Monday for players and their wives, with two dozen of those people being newly converted Christians since his arrival. The article goes on to talk about how he has been open with his faith since day 1, doesn't cram things down people's throats, and his commitment to God's sovereignty. It is so easy today to have no confidence in the truth of any professional athlete's religious convictions, with all the sky pointing after big touchdowns/homeruns/game winning shots.
My favorite quote comes at the end, "Some fancy Kitna as a religious zealot, but if having strong faith is the worst thing we can say about a professional athlete, maybe we're the ones who need to reevaluate our priorities"
Makes me wonder if some significant progress could be made in fixing the Bengals on and off field personnel problems by bringing JK back to a Bengals uniform. . . Shoot, if he moved back to Cincy, we could probably get him to regularly attend The Oaks!!
