Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the NFL’s likely 2019 MVP, is crediting his belief in Jesus for keeping him humble with all his success and riches.
Jackson has a growing list of accolades to his football career. He is the youngest ever player to win the Heisman Trophy, the first to rush for 1,000 yards while also throwing for 30 touchdowns, and has the most rushing yards or a quarterback in NFL history.
Last week, Jackson was asked how he keeps himself centered as a human being with all this success.
“Lamar, you talk about blocking out the noise, you don’t listen to the good or the bad, is there something or someone that keeps you humble in your life?” a reporter asked during the press conference.
Jackson’s immediate and direct answer: “The Lord.”
“The Lord,” Jackson reiterated, adding. “I give him all his praise, the glory, the honor. Because what I am — I could have been doing anything, you know. Like, it’s crazy, I’ll be thinking about it, talking to him throughout the day. Like, ‘man, I appreciate you, I thank you.’
“Because,” the 2019 Pro Bowl player concluded, “when you feel like you’re bigger than the Lord, that’s when all that success dies, it goes away. You’ve got to let Him know that He’s the reason that you’re having that much success. I appreciate that from Him. And I got my family around, my teammates, great teammates, coaching staff. You just got to keep going and let the Lord know that he knows more.”
Wednesday was not the first time that Jackson proved how humble he is. Early this month, he also showed up to a press conference sporting a t-shirt with “Nobody Cares, Work Harder” emblazoned across it.
Jackson explained that the shirt is his way of saying that no one cares about a person’s complaints, causes, or worries. People only really care about results gotten by “working harder” than the next guy.
“That’s every day. Nobody cares about what you’re doing,” Jackson said. “You’ve got to work harder. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to work hard at being the best. If they’re doubting you, work harder, it [doesn’t] matter. It’s their opinion. We’re just going to go.”
It is a refreshing sentiment in a league filled with those arrogant enough to think that the whole world hangs on every word of the members of the NFL.
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