Football

Philadelphia Eagles Players Get Baptized at Team Facility Pool

By Jason Romano Jun 15, 2017
Philadelphia Eagles player Kamu Grugier-Hill is baptized by Trey Burton and Ted Winsley in October of 2016. (Photo Courtesy: Ted Winsley)

Baptism is something most Christians make the decision to do. It’s an outward expression of an inward commitment.

Getting baptized is one thing, getting baptized at your place of work with many of your co-workers is something completely unheard of, especially for a professional football franchise.

But back in October of 2016, that’s exactly what happened to five members of the Philadelphia Eagles football team.

For the first time, video has been released of that day when Eagles players Jordan Hicks, Mychal Kendricks, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Paul Turner and David Watford all professed their faith publicly and were baptized in the recovery pool of the team’s practice facility.

https://www.facebook.com/sportsspectrummag/videos/10155410517179730/

With approximately 15 teammates looking on, tight end Trey Burton and chaplain Ted Winsley were the two people conducting the baptism.

“We were doing it in the cold tubs, so it was kind of like, ‘Ohh,'” Grugier-Hill told ESPN back in October. “But the power of everything that was happening there, when you got in, you weren’t even thinking about how cold it was.”

In the video, you can hear Ted ask each player “Have you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” — Each player responded with “yes” and were then proceeded to be sent into the water and brought back up.

The Eagles players watching, can also be heard singing praise and hymns in the background during this time of baptism.

Many Eagles players, including quarterback Carson Wentz, and wide receiver Jordan Matthews, are outspoken about their faith in Jesus and live by the moniker #AO1 — “Audience of One,” which signifies their belief that they play for Jesus Christ and Him alone.

Landover, Maryland, FedEx Field, October 16, 2016: Quarterback Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles during a game against the Washington Redskins. (Photo Courtesy: Keith Allison/CC License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode)

You can read about Jordan Matthews’ commitment to #AO1 in a previous Sports Spectrum article, found here.

The Eagles just finished up mini camp and report to training camp in late July as they look to compete in the very tough NFC East.