Entire Miami football team gets personalized Bibles from Mark Richt

Mark Richt has been known as a man who cares about the guys on the roster as much off the field as he does on it. The Miami football coach is a proud Christian and never hides his religion from the public.

Earlier this year, Richt brought his care for his players and religion together to provide a special gift for his players.

Richt learned that some of his players did not own a Bible, so he got the help of team chaplain Steve DeBardelaben and they went out to secure enough Bibles for every member of the team and staff could get a personalized one.

The story was detailed by the Miami Sun Sentinel.

Richt did not force anyone to take the Bible with them. Instead, he told everyone about the gift during a team meeting on Monday and told them to leave it on their seat if they choose or to take it with them if it was something they wanted to keep.

“I told the guys, ‘It’s a choice. If you want to just leave it at the chair, you can. If you want to take it with you, you can. If you want to give it to somebody, you can. But I just heard enough guys say they didn’t have one and some guys said they had older versions that were harder to understand,” Richt said Wednesday. “We have chapel before the games and its 100 percent voluntary. Some guys go, and some guys don’t. There will be times I’ll give them those wise sayings from Proverbs, the book of wisdom. If anyone would take the challenge of reading a proverb a day, you’re going to get wiser. It’s good stuff. I just wanted to make it available to them.”

Judging by the reaction of one player, the gift was a hit.

Others echoed their thanks when discussing the gift with the media.

It’s great to see Mark Richt continuing to show he cares about his players development as young men as well as football players. Even a small gift like this can make the world of difference to a person and that’s a message that Richt is likely trying to pass along.

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Photo Credit: Miami Athletics

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