A Sherman football player has become popular on the internet after he was captured on camera praying for his opponent after the game.
Jordan’s aunt shared the pictures to Facebook while appreciating the gesture.
Sherman High School senior Gage Smith played some key plays at the game against West Mesquite but what he did after the game has won the hearts of friends, family and strangers.
“When you’re playing the game, you’re playing to win and the other team is the enemy, but afterwards you still have respect for the other opponent,” Smith said.
Smith personally knew West Mesquite player Ty Jordan from a select 7-on-7 team they both played on. Jordan’s mom is in a battle with cancer, and Smith prayed with Jordan after the game. “I just had a moment with him praying over him, his mom, and his family,” Smith said.
Smith said it wasn’t about scoring or opponents, but showing compassion to Jordan. After his aunt posted the pictures to Facebook saying how much it meant to their family, it had more than 140,000 shares till Sunday night.
“To see that it blew up I was very surprised by it, and I wasn’t expecting it to be like that you know, I was just doing it for him and doing it for his mom and his family,” Smith said.
Sherman head football coach J.D. Martinez praised Smith saying he was a team leader on and off the field. “He’s a true leader, and he has compassion, and it followed through for a lot of the guys on the team,” Martinez said.
Martinez said his wife captured the special moment and sent it on to Smith’s mom who passed them on to Jordan’s family.
So this happened after the game. Gage Smith #2, Sherman High, told Ty I heard about your mother I'm sorry and I wanna pray with you. This melts my heart ❤❤❤❤❤
Posted by Takka Jordan on Saturday, November 2, 2019
“It’s pretty special that kind of everybody gets to see really what he is, he’s that type of kid all the time, it’s just not in front of the cameras or anything like that, he’s like that every day,” Martinez said.
“Football brings people together in so many different ways, and that was just one example of it that night,” Smith said.
James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”