WASHINGTON, D.C., January 27, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Baltimore Ravens tight end Ben Watson brought the massive crowd at the March for Life rally this afternoon to a fever pitch of excitement. His challenge was to men, who he called on to “rise up and lead the charge” in defense of life.
LifeSite caught up with Watson backstage after his address. The father of five is in his 13th season with the NFL and explained why he would come out to the march when many others in such a public position wouldn’t brave the controversy. “Because life is important for all of us, it’s something that, as a person, I want to stand for because you’re talking about the voiceless, people who can’t stand for themselves,” he said. “So it doesn’t matter to me if you’re preborn or someone that’s on the street that needs help it’s all the same for me, we’ve got to defend those who can’t.”
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Watson has also dared to publicly profess his Christianity and told LifeSiteNews that he would encourage young Christians to express their faith in public. “Being a believer is not something you just hold on the side, it’s not an addendum, it’s who you are, it’s critical to your being, you are a new creation,” he said. “You’ve been made new and so you speak from that. And that’s how you live. It’s not something that you do only when it’s popular.”
Watson added that there “will be times when you fail, there’s going to be times when you’re weak, but that’s why He (Christ) forgives and that’s where His grace comes in — so don’t ever think that you’re not good enough, because you are, not because of you, but because of what Christ has done, you are good enough.”
For his faith, for his career, for his family, Ben Watson gives “the glory to God” because, he says, “He’s given me the opportunity to be out there, He’s been good to me and my family and you know I can’t thank Him enough.”