This past Sunday morning, the NFL has lost one it’s greatest alumni. Reggie White, who played for a total of fifteen years with the Eagles, Packers, and Panthers; passed away from an apparent heart attack at just forty-three years of age. The “Minister of Defense” truly lived up to his calling both in the ministry and on the football field. His legacy will live on both as a servant of the Lord, and one of the NFL’s all-time greats.Reggie’s climb to the pinnacle of football success began at Tennessee where he was named an all-American in 1983. The next year, Reggie played for the Memphis Showboats of the now defunct, USFL. In 1985, he signed on with the Philadelphia Eagles who held rights to Reggie. After holding an important spot in Philly’s famous “Gang Green” defense for eight years, Reggie became a free agent. Reggie was then in the search for a new home. There were many teams that wanted Reggie, and being the minister that he was, he wanted to go to a large city, where he could be a greater witness to the inner city black community. This is what made it so surprising that Reggie chose to go to Green Bay. He felt that God had called him to Green Bay.
Following decades of mediocrity, the Packers where looking for anybody who could complement the pieces that they had already implemented, one being future hall-of-fame quarterback Brett Favre. Immediately following Reggie’s addition, the Packers started winning games. After three years, Reggie helped the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI, the Packers first Super Bowl victory since the glory days of the late sixties under Vince Lombardi. Three years later, White retired as the Packers all-time sack leader.
White came out of retirement the following year to play for the Carolina Panthers. White tacked on five and a half sacks to bring his career total to 198, the new NFL record. That record has since been passed by Bruce Smith, but Reggie will still always remain one of the NFL’s toughest players.
Reggie was far more than a great player however. He was a great person, who always felt that he could do more for the Lord. Reggie was a great witness both on the field, and to the rest of the world. His mission was to help inner city blacks come to Christ. Reggie’s boldness clearly shone through when he stood before the Wisconsin state legislature in 1998. He spoke openly on the biblical view of the problems of the world. These included homosexuality, greed, and obscene movies and music. While his boldness showed a lot about who Reggie was, it did not come without a price for him. Because of his stand, he lost his sponsorship of many companies, most notably, Campbell’s Soup.
Through great adversity, Reggie stood strong both in his beliefs and against opposing offensive linemen. His boldness and toughness can be great examples to us, as we examine qualities that we want to incorporate into our own lives. Reggie is clearly a great role model to everyone, and his great legacy will continue to live on.
2 replies on “A Tribute to Reggie White”
thanks I’d like to thank the admin for posting this article on the top of the front page. I felt that it was very relevant, and regardless of whether the writing was good or bad, I felt that it deserved prime viewing. Thanks so much. I feel that I did an adequate enough job though to reach the main page.
Reggie White was a great player and I wanted to make sure we had our tribute to him on SC.