you can't use another word I'm like use a sin in them brother like die I'm

thinking he's trying to shock me I'm like like die die like yeah die I'm
like what happened you say you rupture your supplies in order in your chest
you're bleeding internally say we got to brush you back take the main vein out
of your left leg plugged into your chest in order to save your life you said I
guarantee you won't be here in the morning let's go the next morning I
woke up it's top three most embarrassing moments in my life people are
coming over to my bed saying ink man you deserve it man you're a good guy man
you deserve the NFL you work hard you never cheated the game you did things
the right way you deserve it man it shouldn't have happened to you and I'm
sitting there and I don't know if you've ever been through something that the
situation holds so much conviction that it makes you self-assessing question
your principles and your values about life I went into surgery for artery I
came out of surgery got cut six times down my left thigh one time across the
left side of my neck one time across the right side of my neck twice through my
right ribs cut out my right peck bottom of my armpit to the bottom of my hand
350 staples in my body bandaged me from my neck to my knees the same lip
service I'm like what happened they like yeah and we went to do the artery we
noticed you had torn the nerves in your brachial plexus like what's that
nervous that go from your spine they control your shoulder your arm in your
hand they go into your spine like a plug you ripped them out they can't be
replugged they were telling me in that moment pretty much ink it's a soft
landing but your career is pretty much over and I was so embarrassed because I
felt like I had shortchanged God I'm like man with all the gifts talents and
abilities that God had blessed you with the only thing you were focused on was
the NFL that's low hanging fruit I'm like equals that it like in my father is
sitting there and everybody is analyzing the situation trying to see how I'm
gonna respond and my father's on fire and the first thing my father says to me
is ink how does this God that you love so much let this happen to you how does
it God ink you go to fca for let this happen to you how does it God you go
to church for let this happen to how does this God you pray to son let this
happen to you I see when you make a plan you say glory to God well if God is so
good ink how could this God let this happen to you and I'm like oh man God
gonna spank him I'm like God gonna spank him but his frustration was real
because through his lenses all he can see is my son is hurt all he can see is
the two people that I've loved the most my whole life was my mother and my son
and I lost my mother at 14 the cancer and so when your mother had you I was
running because I was scared not to have anybody and now when I get back in my
son's life and we got a decent relationship now my son is crazy about
God and his career ends and he almost loses his life man what's up with this
God and I'm sitting there like God what's up and God like no I got you I'm like
man you got a funny way of showing it and they're like in here you're gonna be
in the hospital next 40 to 60 days I'm like can you order me a dungeon sling
like why I'm like I need to go back to practice with my teammates and like
you need to take a break something traumatic has happened to you I'm like
no I made a vow to my teammates I'm like I got to go back to class I got to
graduate they say my life Saturday night I was back in class Monday you know the
crazy thing about life you got some cast they get a ACL they act like they
can't go to nothing they can't come to school they can't eat it's crazy to me
like Eric Berry wears number 29 in the NFL in honor of me and he doesn't wear
that because of what I did as a player he wears that because when I got injured
and I got back to practice that next Wednesday after they saved my life and
we were in the sand pit and I looked at him in the sand pit and I say you
better not let me beat you and no drill and I had a dungeon sling and I had a
Velcro strap two of them strapped to my body and they had my arm like this so I
could run sprints and so I could be in the sand pit with my teammate like team
means something totally different to me like my teammate showed up at my house
when I got injured and they were in my closet because I had to learn how to tie
my shoe and they were in my closet before I learned and they were making sure all
of my shoes were tied it means something different to me like my teammate showed
up at my house and they were like ink you need us to take you to church we got
you man whatever you need like teammates means something totally different to me
they showed up ink you need to go to FCA I know you bandaged up we got you what
you need it means something totally different to me and I didn't tell my
teammates when I signed on at Tennessee that yeah man I'm gonna be a great
teammate unless I get injured no I'm gonna be a great teammate in spite of
an injury I'm gonna still show up and I'm gonna still go to meetings in spite
of if I almost lose my life the funny thing about it is at the end of the day
you got to take my life before you take my drive because I'm not working for
accolades I'm not working for statistics I wasn't playing for that and
Colossians Street 23 it says do all things as if you're doing it for the
glory of God and if I'm doing something for the glory of God at a certain point
when the opposition the adversity and the challenges hit I rejoice because I
know it's God trying to take me to the next level and so the discomfort for me
is great like at a certain point the comfort zone young people have to
understand the comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows
there you can be comfortable all you want but you can equate comfort to being
stagnant if a person ever wants to grow it's heavy sacrifice involved and it's
heavy discomfort involved and so as I'm sitting here and I'm going to practice
my father says something to me and it shook me to my core my father came to
me and said ink you know what I'm gonna come and stay with you for the next 30
days I had never been on the same roof as my father I'm talking about staying
for consecutive days that never happened he said I'm gonna come I'm gonna take you
to class I'm gonna take you to church I'm gonna take you to rehab for your arm
I'm gonna do everything with you like okay and so my father would take me to
FCA discipleship and he will be there and he was standing literally outside of
the door and he would hear me in the chaplain going back and forth and he
would just stand there when the session would end he would say ink you good I
would say yes sir he would take me he was short in the training room he would
lay on the table he would say can I get a heat pack they will put one heat pack
on and then he would say can I get another one they would say you sure it's
kind of hot you say yeah I need it they will put another one on literally until
one day they put so many heat packs on his back they pull him up and his back
was completely raw he was carrying a burden that wasn't his to carry in the
first place he didn't know who to give it to right like because it was like
Wi-Fi he had no connection and so he's carrying burdens that wasn't meant for
him to carry and it's weighing him down and every single day I prayed at the
same time and my roommate said that time was Ramon Foster who plays and starts at
guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers right now number 73 it was the Rob Mayo went
first round 10 pick to the New England Patriots it was Robert Ayers went first
round 18 pick to the Denver Broncos and every single night me and Ramon's room
was beside each other and so what I would get on my knees to pray my father
would always come by my room and he would say ink you need anything I was
saying no sir I'm good he would say hey big boy to Ramon Ramon six seven three
hundred and eighty pounds say big boy Ramon say yes sir you say you good so
yeah pops I'm good and on the 29th day I find it odd my number is 29 my favorite
Bible verse Jeremiah 29 11 on the 29th day I'm on my knees to pray and my father
comes by my room he says a ink you need anything I said no sir I'm good I see my
father step off he said hey big boy Ramon some good pops he steps back into
my room and he says ink man I want to talk to you about something I'm still
on my knees see yes sir you say you know that God you prayed to see yes sir you
see know that God I take you to discipleship about yes sir you see know
that God take you to FCA church all of that see yes sir he said if that God can
help you handle the situation the way you handle it he said son I want to give
my life to Christ I said praise God let's do it
my father went and gave his life to Christ my father was headed down a path
for destruction so young people I'm gonna tell you something whenever you
look at a situation don't just look at the situation for what it is look at the
collateral damage that's attached to it my father was headed down a path of
destruction he had three daughters when my father got saved and got his
salvation my father's household was corrected my three teammates and roommates
and best friends that were in my household all of them gave their life to
Christ and so when I look at this situation and people call the million
dollar question inky why wouldn't you change what happened to you I'm like
you're serious I'm like let me tell you I wouldn't change it if I had to put on
the scale the NFL my father salvation my three best friends salvation if I had
to weigh it on the scale and they said inky pick what would you choose ten out
of ten times I'm gonna pick my friend salvation and my father salvation because
I know I'm wise enough to understand this is the real contract and it's long
and it's rich it's more fulfilling and sweeter it might involve a little pain
and a little pruning that you don't understand but when you come through it
you'll be a better person because of it I just want one thing from you like
through the game of football be a vessel like pick up your course every day
like through the game of football let your light shine through the game of
football like reflect more than just an athlete and remember who you are as a
person as far more important than who you are as a football player because we
all gonna hit that wall we're all gonna hit opposition we're all gonna hit
adversity but I think we all know at the core it's never about what happens to
you it's about how you respond to it you can control that like people are
resilient like everybody in this room I'm sure it's a lot of ballers in here
like resilient got the fortitude like you put a goal in front of them they'll
smash it they'll chase it down people are resilient like when you put goals in
front of them they chase it resilient right and if you're resilient you'll
get whatever you're looking for if you're resilient if you're consistent you'll
keep it but if you're grateful whatever you want will increase in life people
don't burn out because of what they do people burn out because light makes
them forget why they do it and so every single day with whatever you do if it's
football if it's basketball ever the case may be every single day when you do
it before you approach it ask yourself a question like at the core I'm talking
about with conviction say why do I really do it but most importantly who
am I really doing it for am I doing it for my ego am I doing it for my pride
am I doing it for superficial or materialistic or am I doing it to bring
glory to the Lord and I guarantee you for I've lived it like I've lived both ends
of it I work with NFL teams every day of the week and I walked out of a session
last week and I was like man you wouldn't be you wouldn't believe how close the gap
is from NFL players to high schoolers in the mindset like I see it and guys come
out and they got an identity crisis they don't know who to put their their
identity their character and they got an identity crisis because the moment the
jersey is slashed off of them the moment they say cut you're free to go go live
the moment they say you're no longer a football player they don't know what to
do they start blaming now it's everybody else's fault they get mad they
get enraged they get mad at life they don't remember okay I played this game
I did it well I was blessed to be able to do it thank you Lord when my injury
happened I asked the Lord on that play I said thank you Lord I got exactly what
I asked for and I can hear the Lord as I was going through rehab at the Mayo
Clinic with the best doctors in the world and the only thing that could tell
me was Eekie we can't guarantee you anything I can hear the Lord saying are
you still thankful for it and every single day I get up and everything that
comes my way I say thank you Lord I appreciate it thank you Lord because I
stand on the truth of considerate pure joy my brothers and sisters when you
face trials of many kind thank you Lord and so when my career ended I said okay
cool my career ended my arm in my hand is paralyzed my heart isn't my arm in my
hand is paralyzed my mindset isn't my arm in my hand is paralyzed my drive
isn't my arm in my hand is paralyzed my commitment level isn't my arm in my hand
is paralyzed my passion isn't my arm in my hand is paralyzed my relationship with
Christ isn't and so every single day of my natural born life I'm gonna get up and
I'm gonna use this arm not just with like how I live my life I'm gonna use this
arm every single day of my life to impact another life I owe people one
thing every single day and the one thing I owe everybody I come in contact with I
owe you to give you excellence when I'm in your presence