Latest / The Lila Rose Show / E147: Why He Stood Alone For God w/NBA Star Jonathan Isaac

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E147: Why He Stood Alone For God w/NBA Star Jonathan Isaac · The Lila Rose Show

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I was the number one player in the state of Florida, and I was
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on anxiety medication. Teammates didn't know, parents
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didn't know back home. I'm drafted to Orlando.
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I've been there for about a month.
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I meet this guy on an elevator and he says to me, I can tell
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you how to be great. And I said how?
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And he said, you have to know Jesus.
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Kind of from that moment, my life just kind of got turned
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upside down in terms of just these coincidences.
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It wasn't that I didn't take issue with what happened to
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George Floyd. I thought it was a moment to
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leave with love and say, hey, with everything that's happening
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with police brutality in our country, this is a moment to
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bring people together. I still believe that the gospel
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is the way to do that because it supersedes the You did me wrong
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because I've done wrong too. It puts everybody on the same
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playing field and allows us to look to God for forgiveness for
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ourselves and that way we can forgive the people that were
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around. Jonathan Isaac, welcome to the
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podcast. Hey, thank you for having me so
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much. This is so fun to have you here.
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I think I talked to you a year ago about Unitus and you and
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what you're, what you're doing and I was very excited and I'm
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so excited to have you in studio.
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Glad to be here, glad to be in LA.
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This was kind of impromptu that we kind of just ran into each
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other and said let's make it work, so I'm here.
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Awesome. And you're wearing the Unitus
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Yes ma'am shirt looking good. OK, so we're going to talk about
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Unitus and your story because some people already know it and
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it's amazing, but a lot of people don't know your story.
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You're obviously this NBA star, You're an amazing and a player,
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that's clear. But a lot of people don't know
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the kind of man behind the game that you play.
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So we'd love to start with, first of all, what kind of
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formed you as a kid growing up? And then what inspired your love
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for basketball? Yeah, starting with a kid.
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My upcoming upbringing was kind of rough in the sense that a lot
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of moving grew up in Bronx, NY. I love my dad, my mom, a lot of
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kids, four brothers, one sister had a great time in New York.
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When I was 10, my parents split up and so we went from Bronx, NY
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to Naples, FL. So it was a complete culture
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shock. Predominantly black communities,
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predominantly white community. And it was, it was rough.
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It was rough fitting in making friends.
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It's where I found basketball. But, you know, basketball pretty
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much became my safe haven because I was struggling to fit
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in and make friends. My nickname early on was
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Ethiopia. I was tall, I was skinny.
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I was lanky. I was awkward.
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I'm 611 now you. Can't see you guys but it was
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very tall. So it, it, it was a lot and just
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adjusting and, and, you know, but basketball became that like
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safe haven of like, hey, you know, when I play well,
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everybody loves me. The guys want me to be on the
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team, the girls want to hang out.
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And so it became this pursuit of, you know, just basketball
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and kind of that that was my life and ended up being able to
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take it to being in the NBA. Amazing.
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So what was it like? Did you well as a kid, did you
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ever think when you were starting to play basketball,
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when you moved to Naples, that you would end up in the NBA?
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Not really. Was that like a dream?
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Yeah, no, I honestly was. It was just something that I
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love to do. I loved basketball again, I
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loved what it brought me, but I also just loved the game and I
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just kind of dove into it and like I said, it really did
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become that safe haven because of all the struggles that were
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around me and struggling with anxiety, struggling with kind of
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that self insecurity of fitting in and making friends was really
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tough. And so basketball became that
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thing where I was like, OK, I'm, I'm OK.
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And and I just kind of wrote it until next thing, you know, I
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look up and hey, you're going to be a top ten draft pick and I'm
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like, what? OK, sounds good.
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Let's do it. How do you mentally prepare
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yourself for games? Now.
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Or how has that changed? It's not.
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Like your mental preparation, it's definitely changed, you
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know, but much of I'll, I'll tell you this, I was the number
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one player in the state of Florida and I was on anxiety
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medication at Florida State. Nobody knew.
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Teammates didn't know, parents didn't know back home.
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It was something again, that internal struggle that I was
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dealing with when it came to anxiety.
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So much of pre game was trying not to fall out and trying to
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kind of keep myself together and I really struggled with it.
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And whereas now I still have those same feelings of fear or
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nervousness, but I've kind of learned how to combat them.
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And one of the ways is calling my pastor.
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And here we pray before every single game or whenever if he
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answers the phone. And now sometimes he's busy, but
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you know, I'll call him before the game and he'll pray.
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And that kind of settles me and and get to it all.
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Right. So how?
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What inspired your faith? Have you always been practicing
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your Christian faith? How did you become a Christian?
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And I want to hear we're going to get to the events of 2020
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that really put you on a on the map for a lot of people in a
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controversial way. But starting with that what what
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What informs your faith? Yeah, so the the story starts
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back home in Bronx, NY. My dad always had us in church,
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but it was just a it was just traditional for me.
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I didn't understand what a relationship with Christ was
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like. I didn't understand that it was
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tangible or something that you would walk out every day.
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It was just like, hey, we go to church because we're, we're told
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to and we're supposed to. And we we memorize the
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scriptures because we're supposed to.
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And then I was again, dealing with these struggles, you know,
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kind of behind the scenes. So much of it is just having it
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in my back pocket as tradition and, and trying to live this
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life of really just trying to be like the world.
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And so I, you know, was smoking and I was drinking, but in much
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of, you know, high school and getting into college and then I
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get drafted and I'm still dealing with all this underlying
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anxiety. And I had panic attacks while I
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was at Florida State that not a lot of people knew about.
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And still, you know, still was struggling when I got to the
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NBA, but I met a man on an elevator.
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And so I'm I'm drafted to Orlando.
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I've been there for about a month and I meet this guy on an
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elevator and he says to me, I can tell you how to be great.
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And I said how? And he said, you have to know
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Jesus. Wow.
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And I said, man, I know Jesus. I'm a Christian.
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They know you were in the NBA. They're just like, this is a
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really tall athlete. Guy, I said, man, I'm a
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Christian, you know, but I, I wasn't living like that.
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And kind of from that moment, my life just kind of got turned
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upside down in terms of just these coincidences and God
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allowing my footsteps to be ordered.
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And I started to run into this guy, the same guy that has met
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in the elevator over and over again.
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And Long story short, he's my pastor today.
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And one of the things that he was so adamant about teaching me
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once he learned more about me is the love of Christ and how
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Christ's love is unconditional. And we don't have to do anything
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or work towards his love. We just have to grow in in our
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love for him out of his love for us.
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And so when I started to learn that it started to water this
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little kid in me that was, you know, stricken with anxiety and
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fear that God knew me and God loved me.
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And he walked me through what a by watching him, what a
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relationship with Christ was like and started to teach me the
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tools of fighting back against anxiety, fighting back against
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the lazy enemy that we play, that plays in our heads.
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And it still does, you know, something that I'm continually
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working on. But that was kind of the the
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onset of, you know, really my life changing was meeting this
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guy. You know, it's my pastor today,
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Doctor Doron Hepburn. I've been going to the church in
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Orlando for seven years now, Jump Ministries, and my life has
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never been the same. So do you feel like since
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meeting this pastor and since having this deeper relationship
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with Christ, how has it affected your anxiety?
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I've just, I've, I've learned how to fight and, and, you know,
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a lot of the things that I was thinking, my mind were attacks.
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And so I, I feel this fear. I'd be thinking I can't do it,
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You know, I'm I'm I'm going to lose, I'm going to miss out just
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like do just these things that that that have the negative
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thoughts that happened in our mind and and he taught me how to
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fight using the word of God. I'm more than a conqueror in
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Christ Jesus. The righteous are as bold as
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mine. I even started to say this stuff
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to myself during games and I would see myself play better
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because I was constantly speaking the word and speaking
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truth over over the fear over the anxiety and it would trumpet
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and I also taking these little stands of faith.
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One of them was speaking at the church for the first time after
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being there for for some months. And that doing it, I've had
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instances of just like teammates, you know, being able
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to speak to them and, and just having these moments of having
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to stand out on faith that led up to this bigger moment of
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being able to do it. But he just walked me through
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what that looked like. And now when anxiety surfaces,
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when I got to speak, when I got to do a podcast, I speak the
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word of God to myself and I choose to believe.
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I choose to believe the truth instead of believe the lie.
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So it's so incredible. I think about you, besides,
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obviously you're an amazing player, is that you are someone
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who is unafraid of speaking the truth and living by the truth in
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your public witness. And I know there's a lot of
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athletes who may be in their private life.
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You know, they have a faith, maybe they go to church, which
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is beautiful. They're trying to like have a
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relationship with God, which is beautiful.
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But it's hard for them to share that in their sport.
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You had a moment. Let's say it's an opportunity to
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do something that you believed I think God was calling you to do.
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You felt it was the right thing to do.
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In 2020, that was a super viral video, was very controversial.
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Can you share about what happened and then why you chose
8:58
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using the link hallow.com/lila. Yeah, so, you know, everybody
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remembers the the the hysteria and the the tragic death of
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George Floyd and how that all played out.
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And I'm in the NBA and it turned into a, you know, a cultural
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movement. You know, Black Lives Matter
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took off and it was everywhere and you couldn't avoid it in any
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way. And so we're in the NBA and
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we're getting ready because of COVID to play in the bubble,
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which was, you know, the NB as attempt to keep the season going
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while while COVID was, you know, running rampant.
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And so we get into the bubble and people are talking about
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kneeling because the the team in front of us had already knelt
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and we're going to play the next day.
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And so team in front of us kneels and we but the back back.
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And why were they kneeling just. For they, they, they were
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kneeling in solidarity with, you know, with Black Lives Matter,
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the movement and the organization.
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And, you know, they're going to wear Black Lives Matter
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T-shirts. So to backtrack a little bit,
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when, when kind of everything at first popped off and, you know,
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the riots were taking place and things were happening.
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You know, I remember my pastor preaching about just if
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something that he tied to the moment, but he was preaching
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about Christ when he, when Peter lunges forward and cuts off the
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guy's ear to protect Christ. And Christ said, if you, if you
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live by the sword, you'll die by the sword.
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And he took that to me. And if we, if we approach this
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moment in the same way we always have, which is with anger and,
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you know, retaliation, we'll get the same result.
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And so that spoke to me in a way of if I ever have the
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opportunity to speak to this, I didn't know about the bubble
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yet. I would try my best to leave
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with love and grace and understand that I fall short of
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the gospel through the glory of God as well.
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And I'm going to offer the gospel as the answer.
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And so Fast forward now we find ourselves in the bubble.
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I've had some small conversations with people or
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small conversations around the Black Lives Matter movement
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where I would interject and say, hey, where is there room for
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grace and for love and forgiveness and to lead with
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love? And it was like, Hey, this, this
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isn't that, this isn't what we're doing right now.
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This isn't that, that type of moment.
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And so I kind of just stayed away from the movement.
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I didn't, I didn't think that the, the rhetoric of the tone
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was beneficial for change or growth.
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And so we get into this bubble moment and the team, not before.
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So we have this team meeting and we kind of got to make a
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decision as a team and everybody's like the decisions
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already made. You know, we have to kneel
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because the team kneeled before. So if we don't kneel that it
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looks like we're going against them.
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And everybody just chopped it up to that.
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And you know what? Team.
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Was it before that? Kneeled.
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Do you remember? I'd have to guess.
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I really don't. I want to say the Denver, this
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was the whole. Thing like a lot of these, a lot
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of NBA teams at the time were, this was a trend that was
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starting. Don't stand for the national
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anthem in protest. You know, police brutality was
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the message that they were trying to send, right?
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Let's kneel. We have to kneel.
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Exactly. And so, so yeah.
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So during the meeting, one of my teammates turned towards me and
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says, yo, Jonathan, what are you going to do?
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And it was like this that you could hear a pin drop.
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And I'm just like, fellas, I'm not going to kneel and I'm not
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going to wear a black last night AT shirt.
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And it was just like, oh, my gosh.
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And, you know, chaos erupts and everybody's like, Oh, here we
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go. Like, you know, this, this
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craziness and, and why? And I was just like, look, I, I,
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I can't throw stones from a glass house.
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You know, I've fallen short of the glory of God.
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And I want to step into this moment and offer the gospel,
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which I believe is the answer for not just racism, but all the
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things that plague our society. And, you know, Jesus said if
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he'd be lifted up, he would draw him into himself.
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And I want that to be the message that I share in this
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moment of divisiveness and chaos.
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And so, you know, it happens. I, I called my pastor on the
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phone that night. I called Doc and I'm like, hey,
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this is happening. I don't, I don't think you
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understand how crazy this is going to be.
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Like I'm going to be a sell out. I'm going to be, you know, you
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know, you know, because I'm black.
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I'm like, this is going to be some craziness.
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And I hadn't signed my contract extension yet.
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And I was coming up in the summer and a lot was going on.
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He just said to me, he said, you cannot stand for God and God not
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stand for you. And it was like, OK, OK, I'm
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going to, I'm going to do it after that.
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I'll do it. Leading up to that next day, I
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went out there and I just tried my best.
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I was praying under my breath, God, like, let this truly be
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about you and not about, you know, me being any type of
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spotlight or anything like that. And it happened and.
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Then what happened? Yeah, So I was, I was met with,
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you know, what I expected. I was met with a ton of, you
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know, negativity about and kind of scrutiny about why I did what
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I did. And I tried my best to explain
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that it was about the gospel and it was about platform and what
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could truly be a real solution in the way that wearing AT shirt
14:35
and kneeling couldn't and that it could bring real change and,
14:38
and unity, you know, And so that was that.
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And, and I was met with that negativity, but at the same
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time, I was met with millions of people who understood what it
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was that I was trying to convey. And they understood.
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And, you know, they, they were there for me.
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I got a ton of letters in the mail and, and yeah.
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And that was just that, that was the, the start of everything
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that you see right now in terms of there being a public stand
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for Christ. And it's, it's, it's what was
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already happening behind the scenes in my life.
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And I just used that moment to say, hey, God, whatever it is
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that that I feel like you want me to do, I'm going to try my
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best to do. And I felt like he was leading
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me in that direction. What was it about the national
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anthem? I mean, this is obviously for
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all of us. The national anthem isn't just
15:24
for one color or one creator, one race.
15:26
You know, it's supposed to unite all of us to be Americans and to
15:30
share in this American project of fighting for, you know, human
15:34
flourishing and, and rights. And so, you know, I think a lot
15:37
of people were upset about athletes kneeling because they
15:40
thought like you use the word throwing stones or throwing
15:43
stones. You know, they, they have all
15:44
this privilege and this is our national anthem.
15:47
This is not the time or the place.
15:48
And then other people saying, well, this is their way to raise
15:50
awareness and show solidarity for those who are the victims of
15:54
police brutality. I know you're talking about the
15:56
power of the gospel. Can you share a little bit more?
15:58
I'm sure you, I know you've had this conversation many times,
16:01
especially with your teammates. But like what?
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What was it about the kneeling at during the national anthem
16:07
that you felt this is not the right thing.
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Right. Exactly that it was, It wasn't
17:56
that I didn't see an issue. It wasn't that I didn't take
17:59
issue with what happened to George Floyd or, you know, any
18:03
of the police brutality that anybody has experienced in this
18:05
country, regardless if you're, you know, black, white and
18:07
different. Not that it didn't say.
18:09
I didn't believe that that was the solution in terms of it had
18:13
the ability or the tone and the rhetoric of that time to bring
18:17
people together instead of further divide people.
18:19
And I thought that that was a large part of what it did
18:23
because you're talking about the people who felt like the people
18:25
who who are fighting for inclusion, the people who are
18:28
who have fought in the past. You know, what America has been
18:32
to, you know, all people and bringing people together.
18:35
What I'm afforded today is because of how amazing and how
18:38
far America has come. And so I had that in, in, in
18:42
mind in terms of, you know, I, I love the country that I play
18:45
for. I'm grateful that I'm here and
18:47
I'm able to have a career playing basketball.
18:50
And I didn't think that taking a stand in that way would bring
18:54
about what was necessary, which was unity.
18:56
I thought it was a moment to leave with love and say, hey,
18:59
with everything that's happening with police brutality in our
19:02
country, this is a moment to bring people together.
19:04
And I thought I, I still believe that the gospel is the way to do
19:07
that because it, it supersedes the you did me wrong because
19:12
I've done wrong too. It puts everybody on the same
19:14
playing field and allows us to look to God for forgiveness for
19:17
ourselves. And that way we can forgive the
19:19
people that we're around. What was the biggest pushback
19:22
that you got after you instead instead of the answer?
19:27
Well, just just that, you know, I'm black, you know, I'm, I'm a
19:30
black man in America. And to not have stood in
19:33
solidarity, you know, what's to say that I don't care about
19:37
black people or don't care about my own blackness?
19:39
Like the first question that I was asked afterwards by the
19:42
media was, do you even believe that Black lives matter?
19:45
And so that that was the thing it, it became this.
19:47
It's like a purity test. Right.
19:49
Exactly. If you don't kneel, if you don't
19:51
wear this T-shirt, then you don't believe that Black lives
19:53
matter. And I think that's just one is
19:55
just wrong. I'm black.
19:57
You know, much of the work that I've done in the community has
20:00
been predominantly for, you know, black people.
20:02
And so it just wasn't the truth and so.
20:05
That that was hard for me because, you know, I, I still,
20:08
you know, I love my culture. I love, you know, where I grew
20:10
up and what, you know, what I'm a part of.
20:12
So it was difficult to walk through that.
20:13
But at the same time, you know, a part of finding identity in
20:17
Christ is saying my identity isn't in my color anymore.
20:20
My identity is in the one who's, you know, bought and paid for me
20:24
to live the life that I'm living today and ultimately eternally
20:26
eternity. And so so it was difficult, but
20:29
I walked through it. Were you worried about your
20:31
contract not getting renewed? I was what happened with that,
20:35
Yeah. Because of just how crazy the
20:37
time was and understanding the pressure that it was being
20:42
applied to businesses, to organizations, to, you know,
20:46
the, the, the NBA had a, a large amount of pressure applied to
20:49
them because of what happened. And, you know, we had Black
20:52
Lives Matter on the court. You know, many, you know, guys
20:54
wore it on the back of their jerseys at the time.
20:56
So just understanding that, hey, if I do this, regardless if the
21:00
team agrees with me or not, or if they're indifferent about it,
21:03
they're going to receive pressure to say, hey, because
21:06
Jonathan did this, he may not be, you know, we may not want to
21:09
keep him here. We may lose sales.
21:10
I mean, you know, whatever, but I think what happened was the
21:13
opposite. Like my, my jersey sold second
21:15
highest in the NBA after that happened.
21:19
And the team, although they put out their own statement, you
21:23
know, they, you know, they said that they supported me and, and
21:25
understood where I was coming from and, you know, I was able
21:29
to sign a contract extension. Was there a time in your life
21:32
before this moment in 2020 where you had stood up to for the
21:37
truth or for your faith in a way?
21:39
But you've maybe felt a lot of anxiety.
21:42
Oh my gosh, Something that kind of prepared you for that.
21:44
Moment so, so many times and I'm trying to think of a good one.
21:50
So there's, there's, there's one that's in the book.
21:51
I can tell the story 'cause it's in the book already.
21:54
After I decided to stand, my pastor comes over one day and
21:58
he's like, you need to write a book.
22:00
And I said, OK, how, why? And he said people know your
22:05
stand, but they don't know your story.
22:07
And so the book is called why I stand.
22:09
And we we wrote that. And inside the book is a story
22:13
about me being a rookie in the NBA.
22:15
You come into a league. They have like Ricky hazing.
22:17
It's just a part of the way things work.
22:19
My job when one of my tasks was to, you know, somebody needed
22:23
condoms or something like that. I'm going to go to the to the
22:26
drugstore or the 711 and go get some and, and drop it off or
22:29
whatever. It's just, it's just a part of
22:31
the culture and, and what I was doing at the time.
22:33
And so at first I didn't, I didn't care like, hey, you know,
22:37
I don't, I don't mind at all. But as I started to give my life
22:40
to Christ, it was something that became harder and harder for me
22:42
to do. And so I went to my same pastor
22:44
and said, Hey, this is the situation.
22:46
And he says, what do you want to do?
22:48
And I said, I don't want to do it anymore.
22:49
He says, well, you need to go and talk to that player and
22:53
share your convictions. And I'm like, what?
22:57
You want me to do what? And so, so I did.
23:00
So I, I, I, I, by the grace of God, mustered up the strength
23:03
and said, Hey, you know, I've been really trying to do right
23:07
by God lately. That was how I phrased.
23:08
I've been really trying to do right by God lately.
23:10
And because of that, I can't do this anymore.
23:13
And you know, they were laughing, man, don't even worry
23:15
about it, man. It's not, it's not that it's not
23:17
that deep. And and that was it.
23:19
But I tried my best to convey to him, like, look, I don't think
23:21
I'm better than you. Like I don't, I'm, I'm not, you
23:24
know, judging you for anything. Like this is just what God is
23:27
doing in my life and in my heart.
23:28
And I appreciate the fact that you're cool with kind of
23:30
relieving me of these duties. So, but that it sounds like that
23:35
was just so out of the norm. It's like you're the you're the
23:37
Christian guy now. Exactly.
23:39
And but those little choices leading up to the choice to
23:43
stand instead of to kneel prepared you.
23:46
Exactly, exactly. It was my, it was my training
23:48
for training for raining. And so, so, yeah, so I, I,
23:52
there's several of those moments that gave me, you know, a bit of
23:55
courage and also helped me to recognize that God was really
23:59
real and that I started to see me change like my, my own self
24:03
change. And to where if I was asked to
24:05
do something like that again, I wouldn't have the same, I
24:08
wouldn't have to go through the same level of anxiety as I did
24:10
the first time. And so these little things LED
24:12
up to, hey, this moment back here is going to take a lot of
24:15
courage, but I'm going to build you up in the background for you
24:18
to get there. You and I talked last year about
24:21
your passion for life and this is again another.
24:25
Unfortunately, it's still controversial.
24:27
I believe there's going to be a day when abortion is not
24:29
controversial because everyone says it's wrong and they're just
24:32
all against it. In the name of Jesus, in the
24:33
name of Jesus. We're not there yet, but I think
24:35
there's progress. But anyways, we were talking
24:37
about your passion for life and for the unborn and, and the
24:41
sanctity of every one of God's children.
24:43
So I'd love to hear what informed your view there and
24:46
what gives you the just sort of the the sense of calling to to
24:51
speak about it and be willing to be avoided voice for those that
24:54
are not born yet and that and are defenseless.
24:58
Yeah, honestly, for me, it's pretty simple.
25:01
It it, it was something that I didn't care about it.
25:05
It's something that's obviously culturally normal.
25:07
It's OK in transparency, when I was in high school, I had, I had
25:12
some girl take, you know, Plan B or something like that.
25:15
And so it, it was never something for me that was a, you
25:20
know, importance or a touchy subject.
25:21
It was just, hey, it's, it's culturally appropriate.
25:23
The only thing that has changed in my life is the fact that I
25:26
gave my life to Christ. And now through looking through
25:28
that lens, I understand the significance of life.
25:31
I understand the significance of every single child is made in
25:34
the likeness and image of God. And because of that, life isn't
25:38
dispensable. And so that, that, that, that to
25:41
me, that's like the full stop of just like, hey, I've, I've, my
25:44
mind has been renewed, my life has been transformed.
25:46
And because of that, I recognize that, you know, that God is the
25:49
author of life. And I don't have the authority,
25:53
you know, to take it. And so that, that to me, that's
25:55
where, you know, that's that's why I'm pro-life.
25:58
And I think the, the stance to speak on it or the, the courage
26:03
to speak on it because it is so, you know, beat the media, it is,
26:09
it is sensational and sensationalized and political
26:13
to, you know, to, to a large degree.
26:15
Now it's just, you know, God has given me a platform.
26:19
And if I'm going to be authentic to who I am and who God has
26:22
grown me to be, then I got to be willing to, to stand up and
26:25
speak about what, you know, what's important to me.
26:27
And, and being pro-life is, is one of those things.
26:30
How do your teammates see you and your views?
26:35
I I think my. Have any of them been influenced
26:36
by you? Yeah, I mean, I would say that I
26:38
think that my teammates have a level of respect for me because
26:42
they recognize that it's something that's real, you know,
26:45
to the best of my ability. And by the grace of God, I'm
26:47
not, you know, you know, living one way in front of them and
26:51
then trying to, you know, or coming on this platform and then
26:53
living a different life in front of them.
26:55
I'm trying my best to, to live for Christ.
26:58
You know, I fall short just like anybody else, but I try my best
27:01
to. And so they see the sincerity
27:03
of, Hey, this is who Jonathan is and this is who he's trying to
27:06
be. And we respect that.
27:08
So regardless if, if they disagree with me or they're,
27:11
they're, they're in my shoes. You know, the only thing that's
27:13
different from, you know, maybe me being pro-life and them not
27:16
being is the fact that my mind was renewed and my mind was
27:20
enlightened and my heart was changed.
27:21
And so, you know, to them they're doing the same things or
27:24
to anybody, they're doing the same thing that I was doing,
27:27
which was just going according to cultural norms.
27:30
It's not that they're evil people or that they have a
27:32
desire to take life or anything like that.
27:34
For a lot of people it's just okay.
27:36
It's just normal. It's just what you do.
27:38
And so it's not until we encounter, you know, the living
27:42
God that we have that understanding.
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American Meat delivered. You had your first baby last
28:56
year and yeah, I'd love to hear about your your wife, your love
29:00
story and how that has just affected your faith and even
29:04
your pro-life stance being a dad now.
29:06
Yeah. So my wife is Taquita.
29:08
I met her at the church that I started going to in Orlando.
29:10
This. Pastor, he does everything for
29:12
you. She's.
29:13
He has he's he's, you know, revolutionized my life.
29:15
And Taquita's awesome. She's an amazing wife and mother
29:19
and our baby girl, Naomi's a year old and she's doing
29:22
awesome. She's huge.
29:24
She's she's really tall for her age.
29:27
And it's just, it's just been great.
29:28
It's, it's been, it's been great to kind of see the, the parallel
29:33
between parents and children and God and us and how, you know, we
29:39
have to be taught everything and we don't understand and we don't
29:41
know when, you know, we're trying our best to convey to
29:43
them what's right and what's wrong.
29:45
And it's the same thing that God is trying to do with us.
29:47
And you know, we would call them hard headed when they don't get
29:50
it, but we won't call ourselves hard headed when we don't get it
29:53
with God. And so play it's, it's been
29:56
awesome. It's it's helped me to, to fight
29:58
harder and to try to be better in a lot of different ways.
30:02
And specifically on that, you know, even on that you talking
30:05
about, you know, being pro-life, it's, it's to, to, to see that
30:08
process of life going through its stages and recognizing that
30:13
from the moment, you know, obviously talk about conception.
30:15
But as you see that progression of life, it's like you don't
30:18
think that, OK, now it's not. And now it is.
30:21
It's like, no, this through the whole time you're speaking to
30:23
the baby in the belly, it's like you're rubbing the belly.
30:25
It's just like it's a, it's all beautiful and it's all
30:29
important. And so it's, it's, it's helped
30:32
me to see the progression of life and how, you know,
30:34
beautiful it is. What's been the most surprising
30:36
thing about getting married and having your first baby?
30:39
I say just how fulfilling it is. You know, it's like, you know,
30:42
when you're single and you're doing your thing like me and
30:44
you're living your life, you think that you would be losing
30:47
something by going in that direction.
30:49
But when you do it properly and you do it right and you allow
30:51
God to be in the middle and to form a union and to to grow in
30:54
him, you, you, you it, it really is fulfilling to come home and
30:58
to, you know, have the baby go. Hi.
31:00
Hi, dad, do you need it's just awesome.
31:02
And your, you know, your wife is there.
31:03
Your family's connected and you're growing.
31:05
Does she come to all your games? Well, she was very, very, very,
31:09
very little. So she's a year old now, so I'm
31:12
sure this upcoming season she'll be a lot of them.
31:14
She'll be on the front, right on the edge of the court, watching.
31:17
Watching. Dad, What?
31:19
Tell me about Unitus. You've launched Unitus, your
31:22
company, around the time Naomi was born just a year ago, and
31:27
it's already doing big things. What's the vision?
31:29
What is Unitus and what's the vision behind it?
31:31
So Unitus is a Christian sports and apparel company.
31:34
And the way it got started was my faster same guy.
31:39
And so back in 2020, after I decided to to, to to stand in
31:45
the bubble, I got injured. And so I tore my ACL and I was.
31:49
After you stood in. Yeah, the the game after and so
31:53
I was signed to Nike at that time and obviously, you know,
31:56
tearing ACL is a is a is a big deal and I didn't re sign with
31:59
them and you know, I went to my passion and was like, hey, this
32:03
is situation. I don't have a shoe brand.
32:04
I'll probably try to just just in talk in conversation.
32:06
I'll probably go try to go with Adidas when I get back to the
32:08
court and everything. And he was like, you know, why
32:11
don't you start your own? And I'm like, that doesn't make
32:14
any sense. Players don't do that.
32:16
And we kind of just went on that road and it, it happened and we
32:22
go down the road and I'm, I'm talking and God is just
32:24
connecting these dots and bringing up, you know, all these
32:26
different people that have connected to the vision of help,
32:29
help build it. And so now United is a real
32:32
thing. We launched the Judah One, which
32:34
was the first NBA signature sneaker with visible Bible
32:37
verses on the outside that I wore on the court last season.
32:40
Why Judah 1? Judah is my middle name.
32:42
And so I'm just trying to decide what we're going to call this
32:45
shoe and like Judah and Judah is really important to me.
32:47
Just as I've came into it, like coming into faith and
32:50
understanding man, God, it wasn't an accident yet.
32:52
You name me Judah and that I'm doing what I'm doing or I am the
32:56
way that I am. And so we just took off and
33:00
people have really enjoyed it and now the brand is just
33:02
growing. We, we went from the judo ones
33:05
to the judo 1 low tops. And now heading into October,
33:09
we're going to drop a completely new shoe that's outside of the
33:12
room of basketball. It's kind of in the more heavily
33:14
in the just the open marketplace of like a trainer or a walk
33:17
around everyday shoe. It's called the Fortra.
33:19
And I'm really, really proud of that and excited to bring that
33:22
out. I know I talked with you about
33:24
at some point in time, we'll possibly do a life colorway,
33:27
which I think would be really awesome to, to, to do it in
33:30
conjunction with live action. But but yeah, it's, it's been
33:33
awesome. And I think the vision is to
33:36
develop a, a global brand centered around honoring God
33:40
that that's just it honoring God.
33:42
And, you know, we can support and give our money to brands and
33:47
companies that share our values and share what it is that we
33:50
believe. And so to have something like
33:53
united the stories that have already come out of it is like
33:55
people saying, I can go to a brand and wear the word of God
33:58
on my feet or on my clothes and, you know, be encouraged about
34:02
who I am and what it is that I believe.
34:04
That's what we want to instill in everybody and to understand
34:06
that when you do it, you're honoring God in the process.
34:09
And so the verse that's actually on the fortress is First Samuel
34:13
230 that says he who honors God, God will honor.
34:15
Amazing. What are your personal goals for
34:18
this next season? Personal goals I, I want to win
34:22
like, you know, we, I know everybody wants to win, but we,
34:25
you know, we went to a game seven in the first round and we
34:28
lost this past season. But I, I really feel like this
34:31
upcoming season is going to be our best year yet or the best
34:33
year of my career and our team will take another step in the
34:36
right direction. So excited for that.
34:38
Excited to, you know, shoot for being Defensive Player of the
34:41
Year and going for it. And what's your lifelong goal if
34:46
you could sort of capture your life, dream, You're already
34:51
living the dream, so many people's dream with what you're
34:53
doing, but what would that look like or what is that?
34:56
I'd, I'd say my, my lifelong goal is to, is to be impactful
35:03
to, to, to, to, well be impactful for Christ.
35:05
But I, I want to be, I want to be of value to people in their
35:09
lives. And so in creating united, I
35:12
feel like it is a part of the legacy of instilling value and
35:16
other people to where they're growing from it, they're gaining
35:20
from it, they're gleaning from it and they're growing closer to
35:23
God because of it. And so, you know, when I'm, when
35:25
I'm dead and gone, if there are tangible ways through the stand,
35:29
through speaking, through sharing, through being open
35:31
about what it is that I believe, you know, like a pro-life
35:33
stance, people are, are, are gaining from it.
35:36
And you know, my life is not just about myself.
35:40
Amazing, where can people find Unitus and keep following you?
35:44
Thank you so much. It is on We are unitus.com.
35:47
So we are UNITU s.com and you know, same things for Instagram,
35:52
Twitter and yeah. Thanks for coming on, so fun to
35:55
meet you in person and talk to you.
35:57
Yeah, thank you so much for having.
35:58
Me, keep it up, it's amazing. Yes ma'am.
36:00
A huge thank you to our partner EWTN.
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