Reggie White was a menacing defensive lineman and an ordained minister, which always made for one of the most unique dynamics in Chattanooga history.
ESPN thought so, too, as the former Howard High School and University of Tennessee defensive tackle is the focus of the cable network’s latest “30 for 30” series.
“The Minister of Defense” is a 90-minute documentary set to debut Wednesday night at 9 under the direction of Ken Rodgers, who has directed 30 for 30s such as “The Bullies of Baltimore” featuring the Ravens and their run to the Super Bowl XXXV crown, and “The Two Bills,” which delves into the backgrounds of Super Bowl-winning coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.
Rodgers is best known for producing HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series that follows an NFL team through training camp every August.
“I’ve been wanting to make this film for 20 years now,” said Rodgers, who was a guest Tuesday afternoon of “Press Row” on Chattanooga’s ESPN 95.3. “Two months to the day before he passed away, NFL Films interviewed him about his changing beliefs about his religion and how he had come to realize he was maybe more of an entertainer than a man of God and that he had maybe been used by the church.
“He had all these different feelings about his faith, and he was studying Hebrew and reading the Hebrew text. It was an incredible interview, and then he passed away tragically.”
White died at the age of 43 on Dec. 26, 2004, and Rodgers said White’s interview with NFL Films before his passing was roughly 45 minutes. “The Minister of Defense” also contains interviews with his Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers teammates, as well as White’s son, Jeremy.
“For much of his life, he saw things in black and white,” Rodgers said. “It’s either, ‘You’re with me, or you’re against me. You’re a Christian who believes in the Bible, or you’re not and you will go to hell.’ There is a real strong dichotomy in that world he was brought up in in Chattanooga. There was a strong faith under his grandmother, who took him to church all the time, and it’s a faith that followed him his whole life.
“As he grew older, he started to understand the gray areas of life. In 1996, he had public words coming out against homosexuality, and he faced a lot of backlash and was really one of the first victims of cancel culture in this battle we’re still fighting today about our various beliefs. What he realized at the end of his life is that maybe things aren’t so black and white.”
Rodgers visited Chattanooga for this 30 for 30, which contains drone shots of the city.
In White’s senior season at Howard in 1979, he racked up 140 tackles and 10 sacks to become the state’s top prospect in the 1980 signing class. He would compile 293 tackles, 51 tackles for loss and 32 sacks during his four-year career with the Volunteers, which was highlighted by a stellar senior year in 1983, when he had 100 tackles and 15 sacks during the 11-game regular season.
His sack total from 40 years ago, when bowl totals didn’t count, remains a Tennessee single-season record.
White became the first defensive lineman ever to win Southeastern Conference player of the year, as the SEC did not have top offensive and defensive categories until 2002. He amassed 23.5 sacks in two seasons with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL before going on to rack up 198 sacks in the NFL during stints with the Eagles, Packers and the Carolina Panthers, who he played for in 2000 after sitting out the 1999 season following his first retirement announcement.
His career sack total set an NFL record that would be surpassed by Bruce Smith’s 200, with Smith having retired after the 2003 season, but White’s 221.5 total, including his time in the USFL, is the top career tally in professional football. White was an All-Pro selection 13 times in his 15 seasons, won Super Bowl XXXI with Green Bay, and was a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame pick in 2006.
“What you realize in this film is that he spent his whole life searching for answers, as many of us do,” Rodgers said. “It’s a tragedy, but it was a life filled with such humor, grace and love. I grew up right outside of Philadelphia in the 1980s, and he was one of my heroes.
“I think when you watch this film, you can see why he was a hero to so many.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.