ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Jake Bates was standing on the turf in his hometown of Houston when asked to reflect on an unlikely journey from learning how to sell bricks to making game-winning kicks for the Detroit Lions.
Bates used his platform as an NFL player to spread his love of Jesus in a prime-time interview on NBC after lifting the Lions to a win over the Texans with a 52-yard field goal as time expired.
A month later, Bates told The Associated Press it is a duty to share his Christian faith.
“This doesn’t happen without Jesus and by this, I mean any of this, like, living doesn’t happen without Jesus dying on the cross,” Bates said recently at the team’s practice facility. “He put us on a stage to glorify his name.”
The NFL is filled with players and coaches who feel the same way.