Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud’s faith was a topic of conversation during the NFL postseason as NBC appeared to omit the rookie talking about his faith in a social media clip.
The video was posted on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” X account and showed Stroud giving love to the city of Houston after the team’s playoff win over the Cleveland Browns. However, the part where Stroud praises Jesus Christ was edited out as the post read, “CJ Stroud has a lot of love for his city.”
Stroud took the high road when asked about the controversy on social media.
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“I love everybody. Christ has called us to love one another and just shine a light,” he told Fox News Digital. “That comes from Him. I really just really want to show that love and just really want people to experience my experience with finding Christ for you all and having that relationship with Him.”
“I just really want to show love and show people what I stand for. I pray for everybody, and I don’t really have any feeling toward it. I just pray for everyone.”
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt were among those who praised God during championship weekend. Stroud said it was nice to have a big community of Christian athletes in the NFL.
“I feel like, of course, football is amazing, but one day this sport will be done,” he said. “This is our passion, but I think our purposes are bigger than just football, and it’s cool to see people use their platform to show their purpose in the Lord.”
“So, I think we have a really good community of a lot of believers in the league and really around the sports world. I think the more we can do with our platform, the better we can make this world and hopefully really help people if they want the help to find Christ and really understand that God loves you no matter what. That’s really the light I feel like we’re tying to shine.”
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Stroud, who spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of his Super Bowl campaign with Cheetos, is open about his faith.
In November, while Stroud was in the midst of the MVP conversation, he turned his own attention to God.
“For me, it’s a lot of prayer,” Stroud explained. “A lot of knowing that God wouldn’t put anything on me that I can’t handle. I don’t deserve His grace and His mercy, but He still gives it to me and I love Him for that. It’s not about me, it’s about Him and His glory. So, I think that’s where it comes from. I think God made me like that.”
“I’ve been through a lot. Not only in football but things that made me kind of chill when everything is going crazy. And I thank God for putting that [in] me because that’s something that you need playing in this position — is lead. That defense over there, they didn’t blink even though they were giving up big plays. They knew it would come down to the wire. We knew that, too.”
Stroud explained to Fox News Digital before the NFL Draft last year why he keeps his faith first.
“It’s what’s kept me grounded even through my season,” he said in February. “Football has a lot of ups and downs, it has a lot of twists and turns, but at the end of the day, it’s all about your foundation. And something that’s set my foundation is my faith.”
“It’s something I’m not perfect in, but I try to work every day to be better, and I definitely think that’s what saved me. If it helps encouraging anybody to help them in their lives, whatever they’re going through, then I’m all for it.”
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