Saints' Demario Davis Turns Press Podium Into Pulpit And His Message Is Miraculous
Most NFL presss conferences are reserved for questions and answers about a game but New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis is walking a different path. And rather than address winning or losing his past couple of postgame pressers have covered miracles and eternity.
Davis, a born-again Christian, has spoken to reporters after both the Saints games this season. And he's taken the opportunity to share about his daughter Carly-Faith and her battle with epilepsy and how his belief in Jesus Christ and God has not just pulled the family through difficulty but brought a miracle.
"On Friday, my daughter, she's 4 years old, she had her third epilepsy seizure attack," Davis said last week after the Saints won their season-opener against the Titans. "She started to foam at the mouth. It was her worst seizure. For 30 minutes, she seized, she wouldn't come back, and we had to call the paramedics."
Demario Davis #56 of the New Orleans Saints gets set against the Dallas Cowboys during an NFL game at Caesars Superdome on December 02, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Demario Davis Shares About More Than Football
Yes, friends, way more important than Xs and Os.
"We got to the hospital, and my wife told me my daughter stopped breathing in the car twice. So I'm, of course, praying ..." Davis said. "They gave her a bunch of medicine, the seizure stopped, she's laying there, and at this point, you start to fear there could be development issues, it could mess with her brain. You know, she stopped breathing, there was no oxygen to her brain, you start thinking, 'Could her speech be slurred?' or worse.
"So we prayed, and we prayed. My wife and I had to stay overnight at the hospital. In the middle of the night, probably about 3 o'clock, I heard a knock. And the knock was my daughter. I prayed for her.
"I prayed, 'God, let this just be an attack from the enemy ... and let him have overplayed his hand, and let my daughter come back stronger than before."
Tamela Gill-Davis and Demario Davis attend the 12th Annual NFL Honors at Symphony Hall on February 09, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Saints LB's Family Fighting Daughter's Epilepsy
Then, an answer to prayer. And a miracle.
"I heard my daughter talk in the middle of the night," Davis said. "... She woke up talking clearer than she was talking before. Anyone dealing with epilepsy knows, it usually takes a few days for them to come back. They're groggy. But she was talking clearer than before.
"And I started saying, 'Praise God, praise God.' The next morning, my daughter was just so sharp. ... My daughter's already sharp, but she was sharper than before."
Davis said that is exactly what he prayed for -- not just a recovery but that Carly-Faith be better than before the attack. And that, to him at least, made the moment more important than the game he played two days later.
"When we leave this game," Davis said, "we go back to being regular people. And regular people are living life, and people are waiting for a knock. And the word says Jesus is knocking at the door. All you got to do is get up.
"... And I just want people to know, if you've got stuff going on in your life, lay it before the Lord."
That message -- straight out of the book of Revelation -- has gone viral on social media and through the Saints.
"It exceded past myself and in to, and around the country," Davis said.
Demario Davis preaches during the 2023 Super Bowl Gospel Celebration at Mesa Arts Center on February 08, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Leon Bennett/WireImage)
Saints Pressers Become A Pulpit
So Davis delivered another message postgame Monday night, after the Saints improved to 2-0 with a victory over the Panthers.
"Well, I wasn't going to preach today, I wasn't going to do that," Davis told reporters. "But if I didn't, then I would not be being obedient. I told the Lord today that if I went back to the podium I would make sure to praise Him the proper way. The last time I was up here, God did an extraordinary work through me.
"With that I owe proper praises to God. It had very little to do with me and everything to do with Him. So I have to be obedient."
Davis said his daughter has had "a phenomenal week" and is "doing great" with a "full bill of health."
"The knock at the door was answered and God came in and did a wonderful work in my family," Davis said Monday night. "The reality is when you see a message that strong, there's a lot of people who are out there hurting. There's a lot of people waiting on a knock."
And this is the part where Davis is aware some will push back about him sharing his faith. Some Americans, you see, live in a country where freedom of religion is immutable but they think it should be limited.
Demario Davis Message To Believers
But Davis believes quite the opposite. He believes Christians are called to, well, come out.
"That's what we're to be doing as Christians, that's what we're to be doing as believers, is sharing the Gospel, preach the Gospel," he told reporters. "The word says, 'For I am unashamed of the Gospel. For it's the power of God to bring salvation to all who believe.'
"And that's what the world is needing ... People are hurting. People who are going through present-day situations who need healing need God in their life, and only the power of God can save them."
So Davis is not going to stop, if you trust his intentions.
"Preach the Gospel," he said, encouraging Christians. "Share the Gospel. In our schools. Our schools need God. Share the Gospel in our courtrooms. Our courtrooms need God. Share the Gospel in the hospitals. Our hospitals need God.
"I can't be the only person who believes our nation needs salvation ... So share the Gospel."