Sunday, December 26, 2004
White dies Sunday morning ESPN.com news services
Former NFL star Reggie White has died after suffering a massive heart attack Sunday morning at his home near Huntersville, N.C., ESPN’s Chris Mortensen has learned.
The former Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles defensive end, a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame who retired as the NFL’s all-time sacks leader in 2000, turned 43 on Dec. 19.
“Today our beloved husband, father and friend passed away,” White’s wife, Sara, said through a family pastor. “His family appreciates your thoughts and prayers as we mourn the loss of Reggie White. We want to thank you in advance for honoring our privacy.”
Nicknamed “The Minister of Defense,” White had 198 career sacks with the Eagles (1985-92), Packers (1993-98) and Carolina Panthers (2000).
White went to two Super Bowls with Green Bay, winning a ring after the 1996 season.
Eric Allen wrapped up his Sunday chat on ESPN.com with a few words about his former teammate.
“You probably know we were teammates from 1988-1992,” Allen said. “What you probably don’t know is he was probably the biggest influence on me from the time I stepped foot into Philadelphia until now. More so off the field than on. We continued to stay in touch throughout my 17 years since being a rookie in Philadelphia, and I have a great amount of love for him and his family. So like he would do, please say a prayer for him and his family.”
Information from SportsTicker was used in this report.
mikeh, not to flame here, just a question. Why is it when someone dies are they going to a “better place”? I could see someone who has a terminal disease and is suffering. White was in great shape, ostensibly. If Heaven is so much better than Earth, why don’t we all off ourselves right now.
What a great question! Here are a few thoughts that might answer it.
I would never say that everyone who dies “is going to a better place.” Many people aren’t. When someone dies and their sins are unforgiven, they go to a far worse place than Earth - they go to hell. Sounds harsh but it’s true. What good would heaven be if everyone went there? Would it even make sense as an eternal reward if everyone received the same thing?
I say that Reggie White has gone to Heaven because he was (is) a Christian. This means that his sins are forgiven. We all sin, from the time we are old enough to know right from wrong. Yet sin is wrong, and God demands an accounting for every careless word, as the Bible says. God is just.
I know enough about Reggie White (and even had the pleasure of briefly meeting him once) to know that he trusted in Jesus Christ and submitted himself to Christ, the son of God.
Christ died on the cross, and was resurrected again. Christ died on the cross to take our penalty for us, so that we wouldn’t have to pay the penalty in hell. Instead, through belief and submission to Christ, we can share in his sacrifice and attain forgiveness of sins. We can also share in Christ’s resurrection, and have a new life, a new outlook, and a new set of priorities. In effect, we can be resurrected as well. That is a supernatural work.
I deserve hell. So does everyone, and so does Reggie White. But Jesus suffered God’s justice for us, so that we could be forgiven, and a just God could allow us into heaven.
A lot of people say that Reggie White was different. He certainly was. That difference was the supernatural work of Christ in his soul.
So that is why I say that Reggie White is better off than any of us right now. I’m sad he’s now with us anymore, but I know where he is.
All religion aside, Reggie White was the best defensive lineman in the game period. Its a sad loss to the football world and the world in general. The man helped many communities through his big heart and not just his wallet. His dying at the young age of 43 puts all of our own lives into perspective and we all know that anything can happen to us at any given moment and makes us take a second look at our mortality. Perhaps is Love for the Game and people is why he lived much longer than somebody else with a similar disease.
P.S. We also lost Superman Christopher Reeves this year as well. These two men were both Gods on the big screen but yet were no different from you and I in the real world. Yet both had a huge impact outside the big screen for humanity. Remember them as they were, Men with Big Hearts.
Who says going to Heaven is a reward? What if there is no hell and everybody lives up there the way they do down here. I.E. if you get shoplifting a pie off a windowcell in heavon from somebody’s house then you will go to jail for it. etc etc.
What is this fascination with a perfect world and perfect beings in heaven and nothing but assholes and losers in hell. If anything it is a grey area just like down here were smoking pot is bad for you so we will make it illegal and therefore you do not have that freedom of choice. This reminds me of that Famous South Park Episode where everybody had the wrong religion and went to hell even if they were good people. So the only people in heaven were the Mormons bc they had picked the right religion and it was the dullest place in the galaxy and the irony of it all was that Sadam Hussein was sent there and it was hell for him.
I once had dinner with Leah Pells the 1500m 4th place finisher in the 1996/2000 olympics (can’t remember which one) at a Christian Church. I didn’t care bc I got to meet one of the worlds best 1500m runners and I got free food.
Supervenoms Final Thought. Religion is a means to bind people together in a bigger family. The problem with it though is that sometimes people read it to literally and miss the entire message of the bible and other stories. This has lead many people to convert to other logical religions like Buddihism were its ok if you have another religion in addition to Buddihism and they don’t judge people; furthermore I have seen many Christians stop going to church for this same reason bc they didn’t buy into what they thought was complete BS (i.e. could Noah really have gathered all the animals from the world? what about the insects?). I haven’t seen any miracles in my lifetime and I didn’t see Jesus appear when the clock hit 2000. TO EACH HIS OWN as long as your beliefs don’t infringe upon mine and vice-versa.
P.S. So don’t argue about religion bc its a waste of time. I remember when 99% of the world thought that the earth was flat. Boy were they ever stupid! No not stupid just uneducated and not openminded enough to listen to other plausible theories.
Yes, they were cooling on the window of the new age club “Planet Earth”. I nabbed them before anyone knew what happened and had quite the feast. Unfortuneately at this point my stomach burst out of my unnaturally tight jeans, which is the style down there.