This week’s Faith, Family, & Football feature is: Brian Dawkins, Former Philadelphia Eagle & Denver Bronco.
Brian Dawkins is considered by many “one of the greatest safeties to ever play the game.” Dawkins is held in very high regard by his teammates, peers, and fans because of the way he carried himself on and off the field. Dawkins was known for his vicious hits, innate ball hawking ability, leadership, and tireless on field effort that he displayed week in and week out throughout his 16 year NFL career.
What you may not know is the passion that fueled this Pro Bowl level of play and desire came from much more than the simple game of football. It came from a greater and more meaningful source of strength, his faith. There has always been something unique about Dawkins and it is evident in every area of his life. Anyone that has ever come in contact with Brian knows that he possess a kindred spirit and a world of talent that he uses to glorify the Lord on a daily basis.
At the half of this past Sunday nights Eagles-Giants game, the Eagles organization honored Dawkins with a special ceremony retiring his #20 jersey. A few days after, NFLPE was able to catch up with Brian to reflect on the event, his faith, family, and the impression he left on the game of football.
PE: What is your biggest take away after experiencing the ceremony and activities honoring your career this past weekend?
Dawkins: It was really overwhelming for me to see everything to that magnitude. You know… you hear it from time to time in different interviews, from individuals, or through Twitter, but to have that many people and all the many nice things said was a very humbling thing for me. To know that I’ve been blessed to do the thing that I did, the way that I did it, for as long as I did it is simply amazing, because I didn’t play “Patti Cake” when I played football. I played FOOT-BALL. I ran into people and I tried to do some things on the field. I played a physical, physical game and to be able to play for 16 years the way that I played it and to come out as healthy as I am right now is an absolute blessing. Also, to have Philly welcome me the way that they did, almost like an adopted son, is a tremendous honor. It was very, very humbling.
PE: Why is faith important to you?
Dawkins: Faith is important to me because it’s the foundation for who I am. Everything that I am comes from my faith and my relationship with the Father. Being a patient man, a forgiving man, a loving man… all those things that you kind of take for granted comes from having my relationship right with my Father.
PE: Tell us about your family and the impact they’ve had on your life?
Dawkins: My family has had a tremendous influence on my life. I was blessed to be raised by and live in a household with my Mom and Dad. I also had a wonderful supporting cast in my grandparents with whom I spent a lot of weekends and summers around, especially with my Grandma Dawkins. She was my dad’s mom and was a strong woman of faith. She was singing in the choir for every church service, and from that I got a chance to truly see what a child of God looks like. The peace that she applied to other people because of her faith and the Holy Spirit inside her made me quickly realize that she didn’t just talk it, she walked it.
PE: How have you used the principles and foundation that your Grandmother instilled in you throughout your career?
Dawkins: Just seeing her and the way that she carried herself in the midst of growing up in a very rough side of town in Jacksonville, FL was more than enough. I can’t remember a time where my Grandma ever lost control or acted outside her character. I saw that, no matter what… people respected her and were very polite, not because she demanded that, but because the peace of the Lord was about her. As a result, I was able to mirror that and carry that same spirit throughout my life and career.
PE: What does being a father mean to you?
Dawkins: It’s a tremendous responsibility and honor to be a father. Not every man that has kids is a father to his children. I understand that and know that it’s a responsibility and a blessing as well. The Lord blessed me to have these little ones and raise them to worship him. All these other accomplishments are great blessings, but at the end of the day if I’m not raising them in the omniscience of the Lord then I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do.
PE: How has your faith and family helped you develop off the field?
Dawkins: I know that everything that I am and everything that I need to become starts with my faith. Therefore, it’s a constant humbling process because I know I’m not where I need to be, but I’m not where I used to be. I’m a work in progress, and understanding those things has helped me develop through the years.
In terms of my family...I am so blessed to have the love of my high school sweetheart, who I met in the 10th grade. We’ve been together ever since then and I know that we have the type of love where I can come home at night and lay next to the woman that was with me before any of the success or material things. Also, to have beautiful kids and raise them to be successful young adults when they step out from under their parents wings is a huge blessing and goal of mine.
PE: How did you balance faith, family, and football?
Dawkins: Well I know a lot of people say it’s a balancing act, but it really wasn’t. Football is what I did, my faith is who I am, and that’s the genesis of it all. As passionate, loving, and exciting, as the game of football is…my faith trumps that tremendously, so there really is no balancing act. I’m a man of God…period. Football has allowed me to do a lot of things, but my actions and reactions need to line up with my faith. If I don’t have my faith, I don’t have something to line myself up with. Therefore, I have to continually make sure my relationship with the Father is right. As long as my relationship with God is where it needs to be then all these other things (family, friendships, football, business, etc.) will fall into place.
PE: What advice would you give to student athletes and current professional athletes in regards to their faith, family, and football?
Dawkins: Don’t try to balance. There is no balance. Traveling away from home, studying the game, spending time with your family…those are all balancing acts. When it comes to my relationship with the father, there is no balance because there is nothing that measures up to that.
My advice would be to make sure that the foundation is laid in your faith. To walk the walk, don’t just be a church go’er or just attend bible study. Have a relationship with the Father. Don’t have religion have a relationship. When you have this, it allows things to fall where they need to fall because now you’re being led by the Father in all that you do. Your footsteps are being ordered when you have your eyes set on him. That way he won’t allow you to stumble, and if you do stumble it will be something you will grow from because he has his hands on you.
Secondly, don’t let somebody’s opinion of you define you. If you allow that, then whatever bad thing that happens in your life, you will allow other people to have the pen in writing your story. I want you to look in the mirror and be able to say, Yes I made that mistake, but that’s not who I am. I’m going to continue to write this story with my FAITH!!
Click on the links below to view highlights of Dawkins extraordinary career and his electrifying halftime speech.
Dawkins Exits The Tunnel One Last Time
Brian Dawkins Tribute Video
Dawkins Rocks Lincoln Financial Field at Halftime
Dawkins Retirement Ceremony
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