Jon Kitna
 

An article I saw today about Jon Kitna, former Cincinnati Bengals player who made an impression while he was here in Cincinnati for wearing a cap with a cross on it.

Kitna, Life, Faith, Family, Football

John Kitna is surrounded. The Detroit Lions quarterback has one person grabbing his neck another across his shoulders and someone clinging to his legs.

Fortunately for Kitna, three of his four young children are piling on him this time and not a 300 pound defensive tackle. The hits he takes when his kids treat him like playground equipment in the basement of his home are part of a playful routine. "The truth comes out about his back," quips backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky, a recent dinner guest as Jennifer Kitna cooks up her signature dish of bow-tie pasta with spic sausage. "He didn't get hurt playing football."

The 35 year old Kitna, who brought the Lions not only respectability but contention this season isn't defined by football.

Perhaps as much as any athlete, Kitna wears his faith on his sleeve --and his head.

He has worn baseball caps emblazoned with a cross since 1996 when he signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. Several years ago, while playing in Cincinnati, he started ordering 500 at a time to give away.

Kitna gathers his teammates for a prayer circle after every practice and game, and about a dozen of them come over to his home each week with their wives and girlfriends for Bible Study.

"There are a lot more believers here than there were when I played for the Bengals," Kitna says.

Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer says Kitna brought teammates closer by sharing his faith.

"He's a guy you want to talk to, you want to be around, you want to listen to, because he is full of knowledge" Palmer says. He knows any religious question you can bring to him. A lot of guys have different questions, whether it be about the Bible or about any religion. You feel comfortable going to him because he's not going to give you a one-sided answer. He's going to give you the truth. And he's just fun to be around."

After eating, the four kids go to play in the basement and listen t music while their parents clan up and put leftovers in a container for Orlovsky, the bachelor, to take home.

Even though Kitna is a self-described "Bible-thumper," the subtle signs of his Christian beliefs inside his home match up with how he acts around his teammates.

"Jon offers his life as his testimony," says Lions President Matt Millen. "He does that because he's been there. The reformed are usually the best examples because they understand."

Kitna acknowledges he was not always so pious.

He had the occasional drink at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash., but it was at Central Washington University that Kitna says his partying got out of hand and he was drunk four nights a week.

He hit rock bottom in 1993 when his girlfriend, who now is his wife, caught him cheating on her.

"Being young and in love, it was a big blow," Jennifer Kitna says, sitting next to her husband on a living room couch. "We stayed up late that night and talked. I could tell he was genuinely remorseful. He punched the wall with his throwing hand."

A few months later Kitna dedicated his life to Jesus Christ.

Pro Bowl wide receiver Roy Williams attributes his own life change several months ago to Kitna. "He asked me, 'What's holding you back from walking with God?" Williams recalls. "I said, 'I don't know,' and I changed the subject. Then I started thinking about it and said, 'What is holding me back?'"

Williams, who participates in prayer circles with Kitna, says he has examined his life in a way he hadn't in the past. He tries not to curse anymore. Williams, who has a child out of wedlock, now wants to get married and start a family he attributes his new life goals to the guy who throws him the ball.

"That comes from talking to him, watching him and looking at his family," Williams says.

Linebacker Alex Lewis, who goes to Kitna's house weekly with his wife, understands why faith is a tricky topic in the workplace and society.

"It should make you feel uncomfortable," Lewis says. "People like to be comfortable, and truly questioning yourself in terms of how you live your life and what you believe in is not easy."

by Larry Lage, sports writer for The Associated Press
from pages 8-10 of the January 27, 2008 Pentecostal Evangel