The first artcile, entitled God Willing, talked about Tony Dungy the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts whose team is facing off against the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl this Sunday (February 4, 2007).
He is a Christian and African-American.
Tony has faced his share of hardship leading up to the final. It was a year ago, this past December, his 18 year old son, James, committed suicide in his apartment in Tampa Florida. But despite this heart-wrenching loss Dungy persevered in his faith.
Since 1999, Dungy has racked up the best record in the NFL with 90 win and 38 losses in regular season play. Yet despite this achievement he has never one the big one.
In the NFL semi-final game, the Indianapolis Colts were down 21-3 against the New England Patriots and came back to win in the final minute.
Coach Dungy commenting on their great come back said, "They're such a unified group. I just have to thank the Lord. He did it in such a way that nobody would believe it. We got to give the Lord credit for giving us the strength to do it."
Oddly, Coach Dungy will be facing off against another born-again, African-American head coach Lovie Smith. Smith like Dungy is very open about his faith in Christ. Smith ironically became the first African-American head coach to take his team to the Super Bowl. He beat Dungy by a matter of hours.
Update:
On Sunday, February 4, 2007, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI. In an interview after the game, CBS reporter Jim Nantz asked Coach Tony Dungy to comment on the social significance of being the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl. The following is coach Dungy's response:
Jim Nantz of CBS Sports: This is one of those moments, Tony, where there is also social significance in this victory, and to have your hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Tell me what this means to you right now.
Tony Dungy: I'll tell you what. I'm proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American to win this. It means an awful lot to our country. But again, more than anything, I've said it before, Lovie Smith and I, not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way. And we're more proud of that.
Source: www.worldnetdaily.com
James Waller convicted but innocent
But in the same issue of the National Post, another story caught my attention -- Thy Rod and Thy Staff by Jonathan Kay. It involved another African-American -- James Waller of Dallas Texas.
In 1982, a 12-year-old boy was raped by an intruder into his apartment. Waller who also lived in the complex was accused of the brutal assault.
The boy testified his attacker was a black man about 5 foot eight and maybe 150 pounds, the jury took only 46 minutes to convict Waller, who for the record is 6 foot 4 and heavy even for his height.
Some suggest the verdict reminded them of the klan days, when it was the look of the man and not the evidence that determined guilt.
Waller spent ten years in jail before he was paroled in 1993. While in jail his duties included picking cotton as part of a chain gang.
But after his release Waller's struggles continued. He was branded a pedophile and listed as a sex offender in a government registry.
Then a few years later, while driving his pregnant wife to the airport, the two were involved in a crash that killed his wife and unborn child.
Waller was driving. Devastated he confessed during his journey through the "valley of the shadow of death" he had no desire to continue living, Waller persevered because of his faith in Christ -- a faith, that couldn't be shaken by external circumstances.
Though Waller had been out of jail for nearly 12 years, his case came to the attention of the Innocence Project, a group that specializes in helping convicts who may have been falsely accused.
With the help of DNA evidence, Waller's lawyers proved he could not have committed the crime he was convicted of in 1982.
In January 2007, a Texas court proclaimed Waller innocent. In court on the day his conviction was overturned, Waller showed no anger or bitterness over how the justice system treated him. Why "because the Lord has given me so much," he said.
Source: God Willing by Christopher L. Gasper (National Post: January 23, 2007) / Thy Rod and Thy Staff by Jonathan Kay (National Post: January 23, 2007)
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