If you pay close attention to the news every day, you might have developed some kind of anxiety disorder. At minimum, you probably reach a point of exhaustion from time to time. We might call it “Outrage Fatigue.”
Thus, one craves stories that showcase people whose work spreads light amid relentless darkness.
For instance, earlier this month, Orlando Magic power forward Jonathan Isaac, who famously refused to kneel for the national anthem during the Black Lives Matter madness of 2020, appeared on the “Bold and Blunt” podcast with Cheryl Chumley of The Washington Times to discuss his Christian-themed apparel company, Unitus.
“There are visible Bible verses on the outside of the shoes and on a lot of the clothes,” Isaac said during the interview. “For me, what it represents is a touchpoint … that keeps me connected to Christ in my thoughts.”
Indeed, the Unitus website describes the company as “a faith-forward footwear and apparel brand designed to help believers stay connected to Christ.”
The basketball star announced his company’s signature shoe, the Judah 1, in November 2023.
“I can’t wait to lace ’em up,” Isaac said at the time in a promotional video posted to social media. “And I’ll be saying to myself 2nd Corinthians 4:9. It says, ‘Persecuted but not abandoned. Struck down but not destroyed.’ And I’ll walk on that court.”
Then, the power forward took his mission a step further.
In July 2024, for instance, Isaac helped distribute his basketball shoes to a group of fatherless boys. Clips posted to the social media platform Instagram showed the boys receiving their shoes and then looking up the accompanying Bible verses.
Does it seem like more celebrities are finally speaking out about their faith?
“I AM that I AM,” one smiling boy said as he read Exodus 3:14 after receiving a pair of the Judah 1 Exodus.
In other words, the Christian power forward has done tremendous good.
Isaac launched the company in 2023.
“When we do give our money to companies that don’t support our values, we’re cosigning their message,” he told Fox News in August 2023. “So, what I wanted to do was give Americans, freedom-loving Americans, faith-loving Americans the option to buy with their values.”
In many respects, Unitus represents part of a comeback story for Isaac.
During the COVID-shortened 2019-2020 NBA season, his third in the league, Isaac averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 28.8 minutes played per game. Those who watched him that year will remember him as a rising young star.
Those statistics, however, remain his career highs, for a torn ACL cost him the next two seasons.
Jonathan Judah Isaac, a player for the Orlando Magic basketball team, got the idea to make shoes from his pastor, which led him to create UNITUS with the intent to “give lovers of God and country a brand they can call their own.” pic.twitter.com/yTi8Ob7OVW
— Bienvenido (@bienvenido_us) November 28, 2023
Since his return to the court in the 2022-23 season, he has functioned more as a role player than the rising star his early statistics suggested he might become. But that made little difference to Isaac, who praised God even for his misfortune.
“There were days where I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to keep going,’” he said of his recovery process after playing in his first game back from injury in January 2023.
“But then again, I have to thank Christ,” he added. “Being able to go back to my faith and say God has me on this journey for a purpose. I know that I was made to play basketball. I was made to give glory to God on this stage.”
In short, any reader who, like me, occasionally grumbles about self-obsessed celebrities will undoubtedly welcome Isaac’s story as refreshing.
Better yet, do you have a basketball-playing youngster in your life? If so, help spread Isaac’s message. For their birthday, get them a pair of the Judah 1 Triumph. Or check out the other four styles of shoes.
After all, no modern competitor could fail to appreciate the verse “Persecuted but not abandoned. Struck down but not destroyed.”
Best of all, imagine an entire starting five, each sporting one of the five Judah 1 styles. Now that would qualify as good news.
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