Former Florida State RB Sammie Smith on faith, prison, second chances and ministry
Sports Spectrum Podcast
Sports Spectrum
4.9 • 684 Ratings
🗓️ 24 January 2022
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sammie Smith is a former standout running back with the Florida State Seminoles. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft (9th overall) and would play four NFL seasons with Miami and the Denver Broncos.
Legal problems led to Smith's short NFL career and in 1996, he was convicted on two counts of possession and distribution of cocaine. He would spend seven years in prison and it was during this time that Smith found his true calling and purpose.
Today, Sammie Smith serves with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as the director of character development with the Ole Miss football program. He also shares his powerful story across the country speaking to audiences small and large at churches and other gatherings.
On the podcast today, Sammie Smith shares his story of faith and redemption and how God helped him find his true purpose during a difficult season of life in prison. Smith also shares about the lessons learned from playing under legendary coaches Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along his current role with Ole Miss and his desire to see young people learn from the mistakes he made and find their true value in Jesus.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey guys, today's episode of Sports Spectrums podcast is presented by our friends at Compassion International. |
| 0:06.8 | We love what compassion stands for, what they're all about, releasing children from poverty in Jesus name. |
| 0:14.6 | Now, I've gotten to know their president, Jimmy Mayato, pretty well and see him at a few conferences that we're both at. And I got to tell you, |
| 0:23.3 | he is as passionate a leader about helping to alleviate global poverty as anyone I've ever met. |
| 0:30.8 | And all you got to do is listen to him talk for a few minutes and you realize that there is a real |
| 0:35.0 | problem across the world with global poverty and how it affects |
| 0:39.0 | children. And that's where compassion comes in. And I love what compassion is all about. It's why |
| 0:44.3 | my family sponsors a child with compassion because we know what that means. That means giving a child |
| 0:52.1 | who otherwise might be stuck in poverty forever, giving that child a chance, |
| 0:58.0 | providing them with food and education and medical care and vocational training. It's all done in |
| 1:04.0 | Jesus' name, introducing these children to the gospel of Jesus Christ because of your |
| 1:09.4 | generous support. |
| 1:11.2 | So go consider sponsoring a child. |
| 1:13.0 | Go pray about it. |
| 1:14.2 | And then maybe take that risk, take that leap. |
| 1:17.3 | I promise you you won't regret it. |
| 1:19.3 | Go check out compassion.com slash sports spectrum. |
| 1:22.3 | You'll see a list of children there and pray about sponsoring a child today. |
| 1:27.3 | Compassion International, go to |
| 1:29.1 | Compassion.com slash sports spectrum. |
| 1:37.6 | This is Sports Spectrum, the intersection of sports and faith, where we bring Jesus back into the conversation. |
| 1:46.8 | Here's your host, Jason Romano. |
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