Trump prays with Alabama football team during White House visit

Admin Fri 13 Apr 2018, 10:52 am

Trump prays with Alabama football team during White House visit
April 11, 2018
https://www.conservativeinstitute.org/conservative-news/trump-prays-alabama-team.htm?Trump prays with Alabama football team during White House visit
Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.com
This year’s college football National Championship was a last-second stunner, ending with a 26-23 overtime victory favoring the Alabama Crimson Tide over the Georgia Bulldogs in a Southeastern Conference slugfest. Yet, this come-from-behind win wasn’t the only act of inspiration to come out of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s big game.

While the entire University of Alabama football team visited with Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, punter J.K. Scott asked the president if he could pray for him, which quickly turned into an impromptu prayer circle including student-athletes and the leader of the free world.
Spontaneous prayer session
Reporters were present to capture the humanizing scene at the White House. Journalists quickly recognized that they had captured a special moment and shared images and video of the improvised congregation. Watch below:
@ChristinaWBRC
What a cool moment! .@AlabamaFTBL JK Scott asked @POTUS if he could pray for him and his staff. Video below shows President Trump and Bama players praying after the Tide's @WhiteHouse visit! @WBRCnews @BarrettSallee
9:08 PM - Apr 10, 2018
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Michael Casagrande
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@ByCasagrande
It looks like JK Scott organized a prayer circle with Trump.

8:35 PM - Apr 10, 2018
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Birmingham sportscaster Christina Chambers called the spectacle a “cool moment,” noting that Scott approached the president with the prayer request.

Other Alabama players were equally enamored with the president’s attention, regardless of their political affiliation. Even Damien Harris, the Crimson Tide’s running back who has criticized Trump in the past, expressed gratitude for the invitation, saying:

It’s an incredible honor for us to be invited to the White House. It’s something that comes with being a national champion, so we’re really thankful for the opportunity. There’s a lot of young guys who haven’t been able to make that trip yet, so we’re glad we got guys who can go for the first time and experience it the way we did when we were young.

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Head coach Nick Saban wasn’t about to let the polarized political atmosphere encouraged by the Democratic Party’s “resistance” movement get in the way of completing an honored American tradition and sharing that experience with his team.

Crimson Tide offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher explained:

Coach Saban addressed it and just said, ‘Hey, we’re doing this regardless of your political thoughts. We’re going just to celebrate this team. It’s an honor. The White House is something that you can cherish forever.’

The risk of a White House visit turning into a politicized spectacle ended there. “That was basically the extent of that,” Pierschbacher added, intimating that Coach Saban wasn’t interested in any individual expressions of political grievances. After winning five of the last college National Championships, Alabama has been to the White House before.

President Trump added to the tradition by inviting Saban, University of Alabama President Stuart Bell, and Athletic Director Greg Byrne into the Oval Office.

“You’ve been here six times and this is your first time in the Oval,” Trump said, referring to Saban’s sixth NCAA championship victory at Louisiana State University. “They didn’t invite you. Trump invites you.”

As for the players, Harris believes that he may be back for a return visit to the White House sometime soon. “We look forward to coming back again,” he said.

If other powerhouse teams like the Ohio State Buckeyes or Clemson Tigers have anything to say about it, then Scott had better keep praying.