Some of the most powerful moments in sports happen away from the playing field. That’s what struck me in this conversation with Buffalo Bills team chaplain Len Vanden Bos and linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. I became really interested in learning more about the role faith plays in the NFL because I started to observe things on the sidelines, after games, and during the course of the weekly schedule covering NFL teams in Miami and Washington, D.C. I noticed that some players were displaying their spirituality openly around the facilities and also after games meeting at midfield to kneel and pray with their competitors, I also was introduced to the concept of the team chaplain and saw that work in full force in 2007 when Washington safety Sean Taylor was killed and his teammates leaned on each other and Pastor Brett Fuller through grief and healing.  When Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin suffered a life threatening cardiac event on the field in January 2023, I was watching at home like millions of other football fans as the team and the nation seemed to be collectively praying for a miracle.  During shots the cameras were getting on the sidelines, I caught a close up shot of the Bills’ team chaplain Len Vanden Bos praying alongside a player on the bench.  That moment made me want to understand more about how faith and belief might play more of a role in the sport than we think, and that’s when I decided I wanted to reach out to Len in hopes he would share his story.  Here we are a couple years later. I’m grateful Damar Hamlin is back playing, and I’m grateful the Buffalo Bills were open and helped share this story. I appreciate Lorenzo Alexander for being willing to sit with us and share a player's perspective as well as his personal story about the impact of the death of his friend, star safety Sean Taylor. In this episode, Len and Lorenzo open up about what belief really looks like in the NFL, and why it matters.We talked about how faith shapes the locker room, steadies players in moments of tragedy, and builds a kind of brotherhood that lasts long after the season ends. Len and Lorenzo shared about how the spiritual fabric of a team can be just as important as its playbook.What You’ll Discover:The role of faith inside an NFL locker room (04:44)Len on why the Bills created a full-time chaplain role (07:30)Lorenzo on what shifted after Sean Taylor’s death (16:56)Why belief builds brotherhood beyond the scoreboard (36:30) Faith as a foundation during tragedy and crisis (47:11) As I listened to Len and Lorenzo share their experiences, I was reminded of how faith can give athletes a way to steady themselves when the stakes feel impossibly high. Tune in to hear how NFL players’ lives can be impacted because of the community and fellowship surrounding them.You can watch this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jG9wjXTqfqs For a full transcript and more, check out our blog post: https://www.lindsaycz.com/show-notes/buffalo-bills-16  Check out more from the Buffalo Bills: Follow the Team on Instagram.For more from Lorenzo Alexander, you can follow him on Instagram.

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