Off the Field

College basketball and pro football were hit with hard headlines last week.

Friday, the NCAA blew the whistle on six former players from three universities (Arizona State, New Orleans, and Mississippi Valley), permanently revoking their eligibility following separate investigations into sports betting allegations—the latest infractions in a string of ongoing college and professional gambling probes. 

The same day, former NFL player Antonio Brown was extradited from Dubai to the U.S. on an attempted murder charge. Brown allegedly grabbed a security guard’s gun and fired it twice during an altercation outside a celebrity boxing match.

Meanwhile, NFL teams are honoring Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who took his own life Thursday. Kneeland was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after evading police during a traffic stop and texting his family "goodbye."

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Scandals and tragedies in the sports world remind us that even the entertaining and exciting aspects of life are marred by sin and brokenness. When headlines turn from triumphant to tragic, cling to the hope of eternity, when sin and death will be forever defeated. 

“When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” 
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (CSB) (read full chapter)