Battista: There Is Always Hope
If you follow my columns, you know that I gave up all of my social media, except for LinkedIn, which I have only kept for business purposes. My self-imposed digital detox has been in place since Christmas break of 2020 (You can read about it here). I am a big advocate of “JOMO” – the Joy of Missing Out.
I spend a lot of my time in my “encore career” working with coaches and athletes, and what I continuously see are young people tired of the false narratives that come from many social media platforms. They want truth. They want hope.
In full disclosure, I still get a spackling of social media information forwarded my way, mostly from my wife and children and some of my closest friends who want me to see something strange, funny or, on occasion, something worth hearing about so that I’m not completely in the dark. In fact, my wife is rather upset that I don’t have Facebook because that is the forum of choice here in the “Over 55 Active Adult Lifestyle Community” known as Sun City Hilton Head, South Carolina.
I’ve come close to caving in, even more so for X or Instagram, because that is the forum used by so many of the younger coaches, athletes and students I work with for the South Coastal Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Low Country Community Church Youth.
So far, I have held steadfast and avoided the decision to go back because I know I would end up being tempted to waste time doomscrolling. I hear those of you who say, “Oh c’mon coach, where’s your self-discipline to just say no to scrolling?!” The answer is simple. I’m human and I have seen enough of what’s out there to know some of it is hilarious, some is maddening and some is just so interesting that my “inquisitive minds want to know” gene might kick in and the next thing you know I’ll spend 15, 30, 60 minutes or more going down the rabbit hole of letting someone else control my mood and schedule. So, I choose to abstain.
Why do I bring up a topic I’ve already addressed now? Because it was an Instagram post sent by my daughter about Penn State and Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley that was the inspiration for this column. I don’t know that I would have seen it otherwise, because quite frankly, the mainstream media doesn’t like to talk about what was said by Saquon in the quote taken from an interview with golf YouTuber Grant Horvat. He was bold enough recently to publicly tell the world:
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the best year I had in my career, I found my faith. It gives me clarity in life.”
Boom! Saquon’s Eagles’ teammates, including Jalen Hurts, Kelee Ringo, Cooper DeJean, Will Shipley, and many others, as well as head coach Nick Sirianni and assistant coach Jermal Singleton, publicly and unashamedly gave glory to God BEFORE and after their Super Bowl victory. They talked about team Bible studies and the importance that their faith plays in their lives, on and off the field. In a post-game interview with Erin Andrews, quarterback Jalen Hurts gave glory to God. “God is good. He’s greater than all the highs and the lows.”
These athletes and coaches are not defined simply by football, but by a deeper joy that gives them peace and contentment at crucial moments in their lives. Oh, and more than likely helps them remain calm in all the chaos. Was it their faith that propelled them to victory? No, as many Chiefs players are also men of faith. But it isn’t about the winning. That’s not the metric that counts. It’s about what matters most in their lives.
It’s not just the Eagles mind you; it’s more and more athletes across most sports who are out there talking about their faith and taking a leading role in helping young people to look to God for hope. Whether it was the Ohio State football players who led a faith-based event on campus at the start of the 2024 school year, or the Oklahoma women’s softball team who credits their team’s commitment to God with helping them win four NCAA championships in a row. Then there is former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow’s leadership with his foundation that sponsors Night to Shine across the world for those with special needs.
Oklahoma’s eight-time national champion head coach Patty Gasso said in the postgame press conference after their fourth title win in a row, “You hear their faith.” She added, “It has a lot to do with this, so they’re never afraid. They’re not afraid to lose. This is bigger than a game for them. It’s about life. It’s about trust. It’s about all kinds of things they’ve changed each other’s lives with.”
The timing of Saquon’s testimony could not have been better as I had just finished a three-day FCA sponsored football camp as a “Huddle Leader” at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, where we worked with seven teams and more than 300 high school football players and their staff. I immediately shared Saquon’s quote with head coach Daniel Sisk and his team, the North Central High School Knights out of Kershaw, South Carolina, who I had the pleasure of working with at the camp. Kershaw is located one hour northeast of Columbia, South Carolina and 90 minutes south of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is highly unlikely that this old hockey coach from Penn State would have ever come in contact with the staff and young men from North Central HS if it were not in God’s plans.
I was able to witness an awesome transformation of more than 100 student-athletes, and some adult coaches, who gave their lives to Christ in the historic Summerall Chapel that week, while many others renewed their commitments. I watched North Central senior tight end Jackson Rodgers embrace his head coach, tears streaming from their faces, in the sanctuary where the Citadel’s mantra, “To revere God, love my country, and be loyal to The Citadel” is displayed. This transplanted Yankee from Pennsylvania might just have been crying himself. Oh heck, I was balling.
In this era of record cases of depression, anxiety and, sadly, suicides among teenagers, what I have experienced in my two years with FCA reminds me that there is always hope. These young men are thirsting for truth and accountability in a world that has increasingly vilified them for “toxic masculinity.” Some of the very people who discriminate against men do so simply because, well, we are men. “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1, MSV). There are evil men in this world for sure. But as a father of two boys, rather than blindly labeling everyone one way, perhaps society needs to recalibrate a pendulum that may have swung a bit too far in an attempt to call out the bad characters. Oh, I can hear the critics now misinterpreting my point.
I recently read a very emotional article in Charlotte: Beyond Major Leagues by Penn State alum and friend Colin Cerniglia titled, “Journey Brown Found His Identity When Football Couldn’t Define Him Anymore,” Colin discusses how the former Penn State star’s football career was ended by a heart condition, but his journey toward purpose and family had just begun. Colin writes, “At his most vulnerable point, his teammates and roommates Jaden Seider (former Penn state assistant Ja’Juan Seider’s son), Drew Hartlaub and Jonathan Sutherland put their arms around him. They prayed. They understood his pain didn’t require words.”
Dominic Austin is a former NFL player whose career was cut short due to cancer. Instead of letting it define him, the former Indianapolis Colt wrote a book based on a friendship with a children’s cancer patient called “Super Van Tackles Cancer.” I got to know Dominic at a National Athletic and Professional Sports Academy event at Penn State in 2017 and his endorsement is on the back of my book. He shared this message with me to pass it along to the North Central team:
“God has always been by my side, and throughout the course of my life, He has given me strength to tackle some of life’s toughest challenges—from playing in the NFL as an undrafted free agent to battling stage 3 cancer. When the odds were not in my favor, my faith in God enabled me to persevere through adversity, stay grounded in hope, and keep pushing forward when giving up would have been easier. His grace gave me purpose in pain, clarity in confusion, and the courage to walk paths that seemed impossible. I am living proof that with God, all things truly are possible.”
For those of us who lean on our faith, we know we are not always promised the answers we look for, and certainly not on our time schedule. But that faith helps sustain us in good times and during times of crisis. It gives us the confidence to finish the race. With God, there is always hope.
