JACKSON, Miss.–Legendary former football coach and player Tony Dungy visited Mississippi on Friday.
He was in Jackson to speak at the Mississippi Fellowship of Christian Athlete’s 26th annual Wild Game Luncheon.
Several other college athletes gave their testimony before Dungy took the stage in the packed out fellowship hall of First Baptist Church.
“I remember the day that I didn’t get drafted into the NFL,” Dungy said. “And that was the first failure that I could remember in sports or in life for a long time.”
Over 1,700 students from all over central Mississippi were in attendance inside the sanctuary watching his testimony by video.
He spoke about getting a call from the Pittsburgh Steelers the day after the NFL draft and being offered a free agent contract.
“It seemed like my prayers were answered,” he said. “I was going to get my chance to play in the National Football League.”
The fact that he went to the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise turned out to be great for him and that fact wasn’t lost on Dungy.
“When I got to Pittsburgh my life just changed around,” Dungy said. “Because for the first time I saw what a christian athlete should be.”
He said up until he got involved with a group of christian men on the Steelers team he had been an “athlete christian” instead of a “christian athlete.”
Dungy is one of only three people ever to win a Super Bowl as a player and as a coach.
