In a time when politics have even divided those on the football field, there are some players who are trying to bring unity back to the sport.This season, NFL Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks has proven to be consistent in unifying others, both on and off the field. Whether he’s playing the sport he loves or interacting with fans on social media, the Los Angeles Rams wide receiver never fails to point people back to God.
Cooks, known as “Archer” to his fans, has used his large social media following this season to encourage others with Gospel truths. In fact, his Twitter almost entirely consists of statements directly from or inspired by Scripture. “Jesus is the light of the world whoever follows Him will never be in darkness,” Cooks recently tweeted to his 115,000 fans.
“Build yourself up in holy faith,” he wrote in late October. On Thursday, he shared a quote from Psalm 23: “He leads beside quiet waters,” he tweeted. His pinned Tweet on his Twitter profile simply reads, “Believe,” and his bio description includes the Bible verse Psalm 144:6: “Send forth lightning scatter the enemy, shoot your arrows and route.”
The 25-year-old receiver also uses his Instagram to glorify God, consistently posting Bible verses, and always crediting God with his success. At the beginning of this season, he shared a photo of himself and his teammates praying, captioned, “Heavenly Father, you deserve all the glory and praise!”
In August 2017, when Cooks was playing for the New England Patriots, he was asked about the meaning behind his touchdown dance, which consists of him pulling two imaginary arrows from behind him. “It comes from Psalms 144:6: ‘Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them,’” Cooks told the Boston Herald “It’s just one of those things that my faith is the biggest part of my life and I feel like the reason why I am where I am today with the gifts that I have.”
“It’s just another way to be able to glorify God rather than just pointing to the sky [after a touchdown],” he explained. “Just bringing a unique way, so my hope is when fans see me, they see God in me. That’s the biggest part of it all. If anything, I’m shooting it at God. It’s my way of thanking him and bringing a little twist to it.”