White, who spent two seasons in the ill-fated United States Football League, made a memorable debut in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 of the 1985 season. He collected 2.5 sacks, and deflected a pass that was intercepted and returned for touchdown. Despite the fact he played in only 13 games that season, White tied for the team lead with 13 sacks and was named the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year. The following season, White picked up 18 more sacks to earn his first of an astounding 13 straight Pro Bowl trips.
In 1987, White recorded one of the finest seasons ever posted by a defensive lineman. In the season debut against the Washington Redskins, he sacked quarterback Doug Williams, stripped the ball, and then picked it up and raced 70 yards for the first of his two career touchdowns. In just 12 games during the strike-shortened season White amassed 21 sacks to earn his first of two consecutive league sack titles.
In 1993, after recording 124 sacks in 121 games over eight seasons in Philadelphia, White became the first big name free agent to switch teams. He joined the Green Bay Packers and instantly helped turn the fortunes of the once-proud franchise.
The team steadily improved and, in 1996, returned to glory with White leading the NFL's topped ranked defense to playoff and Super Bowl victories. In Super Bowl XXXI he recorded a record three sacks.
Reggie played two more years in Green Bay. During that period he added 27 more sacks to his repertoire. After a one-year "retirement", White returned for a final season with the Carolina Panthers in 2000.
White retired as the NFL's all-time sack leader with 198. He was named to the NFL's All-Decade Teams of the 1980 and 1990s, the 75th Anniversary Team, and was voted first-team All-Pro 10 times in his 15-year career.
Reggie White earned the nickname "The Minister of Defense" as a senior at Tennessee. The moniker surely had to do with something more than the fact that he became an ordained minister at the age of 17. That became instantly apparent when he began his pro football career.
If anything, Christianity in our major professional leagues has become even more forceful, and more problematic, since White retired from the National Football League for good after the 2000 season.
White apparently came to believe, blending faith with pro sports and commerce might not, in the end, be good for religion. Is justice done for the purpose and power of faith when victorious players claim that God intervened so one Christian player might outdo another? Or when ministries put biblically illiterate celebrities on a pedestal to promote religion as though it were just another product endorsement?"I used to have people tell me, 'God has given you the ability to play football so you could tell the world about him,' " White said shortly before his death. "Well, he doesn't need football to let the world know about him. When you look at the Scriptures, you'll see that most of the prophets weren't popular guys. I came to the realization that what God needed from me more than anything is a way of living instead of the things I was saying. Now I know I've got to sit down and get it right."
Unfortunately, death allowed him very little time to do that.
As we reflect on White on the occasion of his induction into the Hall of Fame, let's remember his legacy in its fullness. Yes, he was about family and faith. He cared about his teammates and his community, and he played the game with a unique talent and passion. And, yes, Reggie came to reject the very faith-in-sports movement he did so much to advance.
Let's remember Reggie's story — all of it.
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