Let the World See You
Sam Acho Talks to Us About How to Be Authentic in a World Full of Fakes
Today's podcast guest was nominated for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year—the only award that recognizes greatness on and off the field. And after talking with Sam Acho, we can assure you that he wasn't just a great football player, he's a great person.
We covered a lot with him today—his early life growing up in Dallas, his football career, and what it means to be authentic in a world full of fakes. His story is one you won't want to miss.
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Episode Transcript
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Henry Kaestner: OK, so I've been looking forward to this call. And I was telling you a little bit before we went live on air. There is this background that we had before, faith driven athlete. There's Faith Driven Entrepreneur where we wanted to minister and encourage faith driven entrepreneurs and then faith driven investor. And recently I've come across a really neat young man who has a goal and a mission of going back to his homeland of Nigeria and starting up an investment fund to invest in human flourishing in a way that bear witness to his faith in God. And he's got a great theology behind it. He's got a great business experience. He's got great education now having gone to Harvard Business School, and he loves his homeland. And you are also from Nigeria. So tell us a little bit about that. You married a Nigerian?
Sam Acho: Yes, I did. And so I think what they just people should know, just even about Nigerian culture, is that education is huge. So you mentioned this friend who went to Harvard. It's like, OK, cool. Yes. Like that was my thought process as well. So I go to Harvard. What school should I go to? Because in Nigeria just. And maybe it's when your parents come from. Not a lot. And understanding that the only way you can move up any kind of ladders to education, education is really a huge, huge piece of the pie for a lot of Nigerian families and so far as me.
Even with school, the school which was in Dallas, it was a number one private school in the nation and it still is the same. Our School of Texas and I went to the University of Texas to play football and also the big disorders program. And even then now in the NFL about where it's like you, Abby, shouldn't be a doctor. You know, I'm sitting here like my dad is a doctor. And my mom went back to school to be a doctor after our kids finished up in so many ways. There's a huge affinity for the country of Nigeria. In my heart, so much so that I go back every summer. We do medical missions where my parents started a nonprofit called Living Oak Christian Ministries about 30 years ago, where we go back and do medical care, actually opened up a hospital, raise money and built the hospital out there a few years ago. And so connected in that way, then connected also. My wife is from Nigeria. And so when I was 15, I went on this first trip with my parents to Nigeria and I would go as a kid for Christmas and New Year's just to visit family. But this trip, about fifteen, I went with the missionaries and it was this whole goal when doctors and nurses and serving and loving people. And I saw this girl and I saw this girl.
And I'd love to say I was like that, confident that I was not. I was shy. I was scared. I think she was beautiful. I didn't know what to say or do. And so it's funny and gutsy. She actually and I love to say I was one who was big macho. I shot my shot. No, she actually came and knocked on the door. She was the one doing the wake up calls for our missionaries. And so she came and knock on the door. This is actually after a conversation we had the day before our first call up, the trip where I was hanging out with some young girls who were in the village by 12, 14 years old, maybe even 11 years old, slapping and joking. And they saw her walk by and they say, well, who is that? She's beautiful. Is that your wife? And I'm sitting here like, oh, no, hold on. So that's that was actually the first conversation. We have a conversation. We get to know each other a little bit. Don't think too much of it till the next morning where she comes and knocks on the door place. And I are rooming together in my dad's house compound in the village and she knocks on the door. She says, hey, we got breakfast in the morning getting ready to start our trip. Oh, by the way, I'd love to talk to you sometime today if you get a chance. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, well, you know. Yeah, sure. Let's that's it. Accolades. My teammate. Oh she likes you. She likes you have somewhat of those kind of things.
And fast forward, we have a conversation in that conversation. It's actually comes out that, hey, maybe this could work. But we need to pray about this first. We prayed about it creates a more and just got open up that door to the point where we actually the next summer I went did a traditional Nigerian wedding with two thousand people. Everyone from every village came because my dad is super well-known there did that and I for a visa paper or to come to America. I came to America, got married in America as well in Dallas. And that's four years later. And we got three kids and a five year old, four year old and a one year old. And God is been super faithful.
Henry Kaestner: Medical missions, trips pay. Everybody listening to this should go on a medical mission trip. So I want to know that first conversation get together and she says, I need to learn a little bit more about you. What do you do? And you say I demolish running backs. No, seriously, I would make them wish they never joined the team. That game, the sport. And how do you respond to that?
Sam Acho: Well, honestly, she hated it. She hated it. In Nigeria. Like, people don't have a great understanding of what American football is. When I say football, we say football there. They think soccer. And so when I say, no, no, it's American football. All that many people in Nigeria know, they maybe they watch the Super Bowl. That's what will show. But they just see this brutal sport, guys running into each other and trying to kill each other. Doesn't make sense. And so I remember she knew what I did. Obviously, she knew my family really well. She was take care of my grandmother. So she knew. But we started having these conversations. It was this deep love. Why do you do this? What's the point? The purpose. And so try to explain her. And she loves soccer. She get soccer, loves soccer, but helping her understand the beauty behind the sport that I play and almost the artistry behind it. It's something that at first she didn't get with it. She came to America. Now she's not only my big span's you think useful, but she's got the NFL lap. So she tells me more about breaking news and she sees it before I see it.
Henry Kaestner: So actually, it's really interesting. I can't let that go. Talk to us a little bit about the artistry and the beauty of your sport. I see it. I've got a wife who's the mother of three boys, one of whom is looking for playing football. She's going to let that happen. But I need to get the Reader's Digest version of How to Get Your Bride, my wife as well. Excited about the artistry and beauty of this sport. That is so awesome. What do you see as beautiful in your sport?
Sam Acho: I think about Picasso. Pablo Picasso. And what he did with art. I think about Lionel Messi.
Henry Kaestner: I'm thinking of the messed up faces of the guys that he painted right now. And that's what these running back faces look like when you're done with them.
Sam Acho: And that's fair. But we like watch Lionel Messi, watch him with a soccer ball. Watch Usain bolt on the track. Something special happens. And so though you want to stick what's it's running. Who cares about running with you? Same bolt. The way he runs is a beauty behind it. It's soccer. Who cares? But if you watch Messi, it's just art. You know, I have a five year old and with the Covid, schools were closed. And so the teachers actually sent him some papers and we got some colored pencils and all this stuff. And I said, yeah, have at it. Five, ten, fifteen minutes later, he had this beautiful painting of the side and the trees and the grass. He did that with a few colored pencils. And so when I think about the sport of football, many people might think it's just a brutal sport. Gosh, they hate each other, but there's an art. You talk about, you know, a guy trying to go smash the running back. There's an art to getting to the running back to go and snatch the running back. There's an art in the angle that you take in order to get the running back down on the ground. It's not just about smashing. They're running backers and a receiver. It's just about catching the ball. There's an art to running your route. And if you've ever seen a really, really good route run, if you've ever seen that, you'd be hard pressed and amazed. It's almost like with business, right. To privacy by a guy. Just handle a room just the way a guy works a room or even the way somebody closes a deal. And there's an art behind that. And the people who do it, they get it. And so what I would say to anybody, whether it's football or business or art, if you do it, you get it. My brother. He's on TV all the time. That's ESPN. He does sports. He does all that stuff. It's almost like Stuart Scott. Some of these guys, when that camera comes out, it's like he's a different animal, not just like you're a talking head. You are showing God's glory in what you do. And so my goal when I play is to show God's glory in how I play, not just to demolish the running back or the quarterback or whatever, but to use the skills God gave me to bring him glory. So when people see, they say, oh, wow, that was for lack of better terms. Beautiful.
Henry Kaestner: That was beautifully said. That is awesome. Thank you very much for that. Tell us just fast forward a little bit to today and actually some of your upbringing too, the concept of integrating, incorporating Nigerian culture into your day in your life with your family growing up. What are the aspects of Nigerian culture that most Americans won't know? You've lived very well in two different cultures, a foot in each. Most of us won't get an opportunity to visit Nigeria. We probably should. It's an amazing country, incredibly dynamic. Nigerians happen to be the most successful of all of the immigrant groups from Europe, from Africa, from any place like that in terms of earnings. Very, very smart. But give us just a glimpse of what Nigerian culture is and then also maybe about some of the things that some of these folks have visited. Your father early on saw in him about his faith and how he's alive. And is there an aspect of the Nigerian church that is different than the American church?
Sam Acho: I love that question, the three things that come to mind in no particular order are food, family and faith. Those are the three differences. And when I say food, I don't just mean what you eat or what it tastes like. I just mean the concept of the dinner table. So by way of example, when I went to go introduce myself to my wife's family, though, they knew me. There's a formal introduction process. Her dad passed away when she was younger. So it was her mom and she has four brothers and a sister. And I went to their village, the house in their village. And here's a deal about food before they welcome you, before they really let you into the family. You've got to be served a meal. What I mean by that is if I would have come there as an outsider, nobody would be that it won't be a part of their family. They would not have served me food. So the fact that they welcomed me and served me food was this way of saying, you are welcome. You're welcome. So when anybody comes over to your house, whether you're in Nigeria or America, if someone comes to your house, you are eating. You must eat. It's this way of welcoming people that I think about. Back to the days where Jesus was walking with the disciples. It was all about food and bread and fish, and it'll be all sort of items that I am the bread of life. To think about there's something about food where it's like welcoming people in it. So food is big, big, big for a Nigerian culture. The second thing I would say it's family. My mom, she's getting a little bit older and that's super old. We're getting older and my dad's getting older as well. And they almost balk at the idea of being sent to a nursing home and that they're not even at that age yet. But just the idea that, you know, hey, man, you know, all that I and that we have done for you yet you're going to go and send me off somewhere else. We are family. These aren't conversations that we've had. This is just stuff that I know. This is a family thing. You're not going to just ostracize me or my family. We are one. We are one. And there's this idea of we all have to say it takes a village to raise a child. I've seen that firsthand. So much so that I'll be with some cousins. And this is when we were younger. We would be all glad to eat and I would see my dad discipline my cousins as if he was their father when his brother, their father was there and vice versa, my uncle or whatever would discipline me if I went astray. It's this communal parental parenting kind of consent. So it's family. And then the last piece is faith.
I think that when you're in America, obviously, it's an unbelievable country and we're so far ahead and a lot of ways about the developed country versus developing country. But then you look at depression and just burn out and just some of the things that we struggle with. And I go to Nigeria and I don't see any of that. I see a lot less money. I see a lot less opportunity. I see a lot less development. But I see a lot more joy. And that joy comes from the Lord. Many of the people there know that their joy can only come from God to come from their finances or their success. I mean, I just look at the birds. Right. Like, last couple months have been quarantine and covid, all the stuff that people been talking about. And a lot of people, me included, have been sitting outside and watching the birds. And I look at these birds and I don't worry about anything. We'll water our grass. They'll come in. They'll get some of that water or to be dripping out. That's how they get their water. At least in this place, rahmat or food. They'll just go. Grab some of the worms river. They're not worried yet. I feel like the more you have, the more you have to worry about. And so, you know, in America, I see a lot of worry. But in Nigeria, I see a lot less worry. Their faith is in God.
Justin Forman: So Sam, full disclosure, I'm a Texan. OK, so we're not gonna let Texan pride get in between things here. We can use all the help we can get down here. So talk to us a little bit about that idea of community. I mean, we've talked a little bit about the community there in Texas, Oak Cliff, Tony Evans, how that was such an encouragement to you and shaped your life. What was that community like and what was the reaction like when people said, hey, your family's here from Nigeria to make an impact on the lives of people here in Texas?
Sam Acho: Yeah. So I think there are a lot of similarities. I love that question because there are a lot of similarities between Nigerians and Texans and a lot of similarities revolve around this idea of pride. I'm proud of where I'm from. I'm a Texan personally. I have a Texas driver's license still to this day there. Texas plates. I am a Texan. I mean, I went to the University of Texas? I mean, that's who I am. And so that same pride, I have her Nigeria for Texas. But there's that piece I think that's missing is just this community piece. When I go to Nigeria and this is something I would not even urge, but just recommend is maybe a better way to put it, whether you're from Texas or whatever.
I go to Nigeria, I'll be walking in the streets or walking from one place to another and people will see me and I'll say, you're welcome. You're welcome. I'm thinking, what is it? Thank you. I could do something. It's like, no, you're welcome. Welcome. Here you are welcome. Or even better yet, you'll be walking in a different part of the country and I'll look at you and say, well done. That's almost like a way of saying hello. Well done. But look at the exaltation of building up. Hey, well done. You're welcome. We love you. Well, you know, there's a side this community that I just really, really love and enjoy. And then you touched on it a little bit just in so. Grew up in this Nigerian household. Well done. You're welcome. Faith, family food grew up in a predominately white school. But then my church was in South Dallas, Southcliffe, to be precise, which is predominately black. It was a church. Tony Evans was a pastor. So I grew up. I was baptized. at Tony Evans' church. I grew up every Sunday and my dad was a pastor there as well. So every Sunday and every Wednesday, I'd be there in this completely different culture. So I love. And you talked about earlier, one foot in America, one foot in Nigeria. But there's almost a third dynamic, one foot in this African-American culture, one foot and almost this white American culture. Then I'll see. You've got this Nigerian culture.
There's this other piece that I had to learn to navigate a lot of talk about in my book. I had a book coming out soon, actually, and I talk about it just that's one of my first chapter. Just what does it look like navigating all these different cultures? Because the title of a book is called Let the World See You How to Be Real in a World Full of Fakes. I think about how easy it was for me to pretend. So here's what I mean by that. When I was with my white friends, I would talk proper and and do stuff that white people do. Photos of my black friends, church. It was all different, kind of relaxed, gular a conversation. And then when I was with my Nigerian friends was a whole different types of conversation. So it was almost as if I was continually hiding or putting on these mass. Trying to be someone I wasn't and even goes further with football. Nigeria, once again, intelligence and education shoot. So I'm highly intelligent, love learning, love math and writing and Shakespeare and all this stuff. But that doesn't really sit well with the NFL and with college football. So when I was around my athlete friends, we would talk about school stuff. But when I was with my classmates, it was we were talking about Shakespeare and Normandy and all of this stuff that tie, you know, like all this stuff. And so I just got to a point where I said, man, what is like who am I? Who am I? And so in this book, I just cover a lot of what it means to take off the masks and stop hiding and really to be who God made you to be to to be real in a world full of fakes, to let the world see you.
Justin Forman: So talk to us a little bit about that when you talk about identity. I mean, you're wrestling with that and you can hear that struggle of what's going on there. You're wrestling, seeking the, I guess, the approval of maybe different friend. You talk also, I think in the book, maybe you dove into that idea of seeking approval to an extent is good, but seeking approval to a point of where you can make it an idol. And you talk about maybe that in the context of your dad and some of the people around you dove into that for us.
Sam Acho: Yeah. Identity issues run rampant in our culture. And it's been like that since creation. I think about Adam and Eve, who they had a son, Cain and Abel and Cain, the older son, murdered his younger son. And I think that went back to this issue of identity. The younger they both were asked to give an offering to God and one offspring was accepted. Abels was accepted because he gave an actual good offering when Kanes was denied out of anger out of this deal. But no, you took him over me. Murder. And it's obviously you call it a drastic example, but the thing about all that, all this stuff starts in our hearts. It's such a heart. So for me, God and his view of me wasn't at the center of my heart.
It was the view of others, even good people. My dad was my dad. Think about this decision that was usually the filter. And then or you know what? What is my wife's thing or my coaches or my teammates or my friends. And the problem with trying to please all these people is that they are not God. They're not God. So it got to a point where I actually started to talk to a counselor and just say, Hey, man. But I don't need, you know, what to do with my emotions because I'm this Christian guy in this brutal sport. And if I even dare to get angry and fight of my teammates over these questions, will Sanders will be a Christian. So see this nice guy? What happened? He screwed Chris. I did. And I didn't have good answers. And so I'm sitting with his counselor and he looks at me, says, hey, Sam, what do you do when you get angry? And I look at him, I say, well, I try not to get angry. He responds, he says everyone gets angry.
What do you do when you get angry? And I never really thought about and ever thought about what I'd do with my emotions. But usually what I actually having this conversation. I realized that I would hide what I had in the book. I talk about me being 13 years old and going to hide in a bathroom stall because I was getting made fun of. And I just ran. That's ERG. So when you're confronted with these identity issues, you have three options. You can face them head on. You can run or you can hide and pick one. And so instead of facing them, instead of running, I just had to say. And fast forward to the locker room. It wasn't much different. There aren't a lot of backroom sorts to hide in the locker rooms. There are different ways to hide. You can hide within yourself. You can put this mask on and pretend you're somebody you're not. And so I think a lot of us deal with these issues of identity and we don't know who we are and we're trying to figure it out. We try to please people and shareholders and stakeholders and get more followers or please our parents or spouses or even our kids. Yet those people are things were never meant to hold the seat of our heart. God was God. And so what I've learned is that what I have learned, to listen to his voice and get my approval and affirmation from him. And it's a daily battle to say, you know what, I'm going to choose to believe that I am who God says that I am over what someone else that's good or bad.
Henry Kaestner: So I want to build on that a little bit more to you. Probably a smart guy with every head on that, I guess. There's a great article out there about the six smartest people in the NFL. And you're on it. You went to Thunderbird, one of the most elite MBA programs that's out there. You won the award of the best scholar athlete in all of college football. And so you don't wear that on your sleeve. And yet some people undoubtedly know about that in the locker room. Does anybody in the locker room ever say, Sam, you strike me as a really, really smart guy? How can you believe in this whole Jesus thing?
Sam Acho: Now, that is a question I guess I'll tackle part one first, if I'm being frank a lot of people don't know that I was that smart because I would hide it. So here's what I mean by that. I want the Campbell Trophy. The academic Heisman Trophy had a twenty five thousand dollars postgraduate scholarship after school. And so I get drafted and I have two years to use the scholarship finish. My first year in NFL. Pretty successful. Doing well. Well, year two comes in. And so my time is running out. And so I find the school in Arizona at Thunderbird School, the number one international MBA in the world. And I started going to Thunderbird, but I didn't let any of my teammates know. By way of example, we'd have offseason practice from about eight a.m., from seven to eleven. Thunderbird was about thirty thirty four minute drive from our practice facility. I would finish our offseason practices from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. SSAFA. I would take a quick shower if I had time, get in the car, drive 30 minutes, change if I could, and then go to class for eight hours. Nobody knew. So this this issue of hidings, I believe that if guys knew I was a smart guy, then they would say, well, you're not a real football player. Now kalayus knew because we were close. He's like you. What do you get out of here so fast? So he knew. And so there was that piece that a lot of people knew where the second piece is, which is I think is an even better question is what do you do with Jesus when you're this, whether you're highly intelligent or pragmatic or whatever? What do you do with Jesus? He didn't really fit in all of our boxes. I've read a couple of books on this and just apologetics people defending the faith. And one thing I've come to understand is that I use science as an example. The more you look at some of the scientific history, the more it actually points to and validates the truth of Jesus's existence. If you just look at just go back and look at some of the facts. Right. Whether some of things that he said, parting of the seas and all these things that happened is just biblical history. More you say, okay, the Bible was actually accurate, number one. Number two, I just think about who Jesus was and who he said he was for. He knows that I came to seek and save the lost. And so if you think you've got it all together, but give me your best shot. Let's see how that works for you. And I was the guy who thought I had it all together. 20 something years old, drafted a couple hundred thousand dollars signing bonus at 22. Four hundred seventy four thousand dollars signing bonus. Hey, welcome, NFL. Here's a couple hundred thousand dollars, right play and started it got became a starter as a rookie, had seven sacks as a rookie, tied the sack record as a rookie, starting every game, playing every game, sacking Tom Brady and Joe Flacco and Sam Bradford and all of these guys, Ben Roethlisberger. And you would have thought I'd be the picture of success. And I was miserable. I wasn't happy. It didn't satisfy me. Ask any leader in the investment space, anybody starting a business is anybody's winning. Super Bowls will look at Tom Brady's interview after he won his first Super Bowl. He said it was at. Is this it? There's got to be something more and so without Jesus and without a relationship, not just, OK.
Let me go to church and check the box off. My wife wants me to go with my kids. It'll be good for them. No, man. Get to know Jesus. So that's what I'm talking about in the book. Is the whole premise of the book. Get to know Jesus intimately and understand that you are worth getting to know. So I don't want to skip over that. It's like oftentimes think that people who are at a higher level in the relational stratosphere or the business world or in sport seems like it could be isolating. But there is a God who loves the first guy on the roster just as much as he loves the last guy on the roster, just as much as he loves the guy who didn't make the roster like Jesus didn't come for the elite. I know that sounds like a slap in the face, but it's true. You said it. You will see me. You will find it when you see me with your whole heart. If you've got all the money in the world, your prize going to be seeking Jesus. You're going to say, you know what? Let me trust in my money. It's like our call to see what that does for you. I'll tell you first hand. It took me down a downward spiral that got me to a point where I needed to go talk to a counselor about who I am and where my identity lies. And now I understand my identity lies in the fact that I'm a child of God, that I don't follow what Jesus said. He wants to get to know me and I'm trying to get to know him. And oh, by the way, it frees you have to be that much better of a football player, of a father, of a friend. The list goes on and on.
Henry Kaestner: So it makes me think back to the whole bird thing that you've been watching out your window during Cauvin 19 or you trips back to Nigeria, the bird and the guys in Nigeria are worried about whether they sack Tom Brady or not. Their joy is come in, and yet you thought because you are going to the university Texas, you see Tom Brady go. You did when you when you'd sack him. By the way, how hard must be to sack Ben Roethlisberger? That's a large human being.
I know. Hope that's not where we're going. But I've got to tell this story. It was my first. Yeah. Brady second. And it was my first act in the NFL. I am just glad they changed the rules because I was hauled down by I slid down his body. I held on to his leg. I don't like this because it makes me seem not cool. I've got to be honest with you all. I got his body, LRB was leg and the ref blew the whistle because I didn't. What's up? The posse was coming, but it counted as a sack that I'm taken. It was my first.
Henry Kaestner: We coun tit. Yes. So you arrive there, you sack these guys and you expected that you would feel different, that it would complete you and it didn't. That's really important because a lot of listeners are this. Listen to this. Athletics is important because that's why they turn into faith through an athlete and they think, my goodness, if I get that contract four hundred and seventy four thousand dollars is a lot of money getting to be a starter. And yet you found an emptiness that led you to counseling. Yeah.
Sam Acho: I'm going on my 10th year in the NFL. And I think about my best memories, highlights. And those sacks aren't on the highlight reel of my time NFL. What is on the highlight reel are the relationships that I built, the people. I got a chance pour into and the people poured into me. What is on the highlight reel are honestly some of the lows getting released. I got injured. I got released by the Bears. Now, fast forward. Eight years later, I signed a multi-million dollar contract, not, you know, four seventy four thousand dollars. It's big, but in the NFL, I mean, multi-million. And I get released, I get cut and I try out for a different team. I get the cut from that team. And the highlight for me was the months after the two months after getting released by the second team and a year and not being picked up, but understanding that I was still loved. Understand that I would still care for that. I got still loved me even though I wasn't playing. Even though people didn't care what was anymore. No one was asking for an autograph or an interview. But God was with me and I couldn't see it. But I could feel it. He was with me. And so you talk about the highlight. That is the highlight, not the playoff runs or the starting or see my myself on the big screen name and outs on the loudspeaker. It was the hard times. I really stand out because I grew. Let me have this conversation now is saying I am more than what I do. Oh, that's growth. Having it and believing it, that's growth.
Justin Forman: So there's somewhere along the way, Sam, that you sense that and you see the highlights and you see what matters and your teammates around you start to see. I mean, here's a guy who is willing to step into some tough conversations. You know, you've given some speeches over the years about maybe some of the divide, the tension that's in the locker room that's outside the locker room, talked a little bit maybe about some in your work that you've done there. Could you talk about what that means to you and where you think some of the division is today?
Sam Acho: That's another great question. It saddens me or I don't feel sad or I'm frustrated. A combination of those two words when I see America divided, when it doesn't have to be. Here's what I mean by that. I go to Nigeria and there's different people, groups there. There's three main tribes, if you will, ebow you're Bob and houses. And there's definitely some divide there. But it's almost as if there's something bigger that says, hey, I'm from Niger, I'm a Texan. So no matter what, I must stand up for my fellow Texan, Valkyr. You've got to me. I just wish that for America we could have that. I don't care if you're black or you're white. It's like, no, man, we are. There's something bigger than just our skin color. And it's obviously you can't avoid because people oftentimes say pull yourself up by your bootstraps. But look at how a lot of America was good, at least in the South. It wasn't by people pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. It was built by slaves. If you just want to just call a spade a spade, you know, even there's a brick. I was at this exhibit by this African-American Supreme Court justice. A guy named Alan Page also happens to be a NFL Hall of Famer, Super Bowl champ.
And he had this exhibit that had a slave made brick from the White House. Just talking a little bit about America's often untold history. And so you see that we say, I think the first step is acknowledging that, yes, there is and there has been divide. But the second second has to come before just saying that that was there. We moved on. It's got to be this idea of healing. Is this healing? Yeah. There was a divide. Let's acknowledge that. Let's acknowledge that there was a time when an African-American first of all didn't even have a right to vote, woman didn't even have a right to vote. And then there was a time where an African-American was worth three fifths of a vote. Let's acknowledge that. Let's not ignore that. And then let's talk about, OK, let's how do we get to where we need to get to where we are. Know one. You know, you talk about a team in the locker room racing about locker room that no matter where you come from, whether you're black, whether you're white or Asian, Hispanic, no matter if you grew up in a super rich neighborhood to a poor neighborhood, we are one team. We are on one team. And oftentimes I think America doesn't really get that. It's more of a Republican. This is my candidate. I'm a Democrat or, you know, this is my party or my group. If you get a chance to get to know the people around, you would say, yes, your life experience could be different than mine. And I'm sorry about that. I don't get that by just acknowledging that it would be a huge step and say, okay, how do we make it better? I think that's the step that America as a whole, I believe needs to take.
Justin Forman: So we just had Neville shed on the program here recently. He was a part of the 1966 team is the University of Texas, El Paso, that you see in the Disney movie Glory Road. And they won the national championship, going to beat Kentucky in the finals. And you have a perspective that this was a watershed moment where integration in sports and some of those things took a gigantic leap forward. And so it's in those moments that sometimes that we do come together, we see things differently. When you look at the time that our country is in right now and the things that we're going through and have gone through here the past few months, what do you anticipate when football resumes, when this comes back together? Do you think that there's some of that stuff that we can leave behind and come together more united? Are we more divided?
Sam Acho: Well, the interesting thing about kind of where we're at now and, you know, obviously recording some of this during some of the quarantine and coalbed and people aren't really at work yet. People aren't really at school yet. It's a lot of being at home. And you get a lot more time to think about, more time to read into to though you're not spending as much time with friends, you're actually spending more time with yourself, which I think a lot of people try to avoid by being busy. But I think that when we get back to normal, I guess my desire that we wouldn't just rush past these issues, my desire, desires that we would address them, talk about them, mourn, write like be sad for our neighbors more with those who are mourning when you look at. So get some of the things people protest, whether it's African-Americans being in prison at a disproportionate rate to the population or you just look at even women in the business world. I'm talking with a friend the other day talking about venture capitalists, firms, which just reported that 93 percent of venture capital firms do not report a person of color as an investment partner. I think that's a big deal. You think about how I believe I might be wrong on this step, but I think is it just 17 percent of venture capital firms have a woman involved as a partner? I think that's a big deal. And so I just think about I'll call it an America problem or a problem. Say, hey, let's just not even a problem, but it's an opportunity to get better.
Let's address some of these things. Let's look past our differences on the outside. Understand that we're a lot closer than we think we are on the inside. I got a chance in Chicago to do some social justice work backwards. There is big talk about called capital. Could take it easy for the anthem. And what we were going to do in the NFL had this initiative where they said we're going to support our players if our players are about it, about change, are going to support that change. And even before they had that initiative, I had a chance just to go and spend time with police officers in different districts in Chicago. And Chicago is well known for a lot of the violence there, but also with young kids from some of these disadvantages, the right word, but some of these tougher communities. And we sat together. NFL player, a cop and a 13, 12, 13 year old African-American kid just sitting together. We call them peace circles. And I'm getting even my heart gets a little bit tense now talking about it, because it's like, why can't we just do that? I found out when I did that, I learned that I was more like both people to my right, to my left. And I was more like that. I was different. I had more coming with the police officer than I thought I did more common with this 13 year old kid than I thought I did. But it took sitting down. And so my goal, my desire would be that we would just get together, get together and understand that we were more alike than we are different.
Justin Forman: Sam, it's been great having you on the show here with us as we come to the close of this episode, we'd like to finish each episode really just rooted in God's truth. Maybe there's a passage of scripture that's coming alive to you this time in the season. Maybe it's something you read recently. Can you share with our listeners where God has you?
Sam Acho: Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough worries of it's all. Better yet, today has enough words of its own. I think Matthew six, it talks about the birds. They don't work yet god provides the flowers, the Bible says they don't toil nor spend. Yet not one of you is even arrayed like one of these like there. So you look at these, I saw a parakeet the other day. And it was one of the most beautiful birds. Had this blue body, a red face and a yellow tail. So how is this thing real? And God is providing for that. That Parakeet don't have to worry about his next meal. So if God cares about the parakeet, you tell me he don't care about me.
If God cares about the flowers that literally like people pick and throw way, and God provides for them. You tell me, gosh, he's going to provide for me. So what I'm learning is that I have nothing to be worried about. I need to get everything else out of the way and just focus on abiding in God's presence is understanding his love for me. Let that be my sacrifice. If you want to sacrifice anything, don't sacrifice time with your family or sacrifice money, sacrifice your time and get to know Jesus intimately.
Henry Kaestner: It's a good word. That's a good word. Sam, Acho.
Sam Acho: There it is.
Henry Kaestner: Do a little bit better than I did the beginning.
Sam Acho: I tell people. I tell people it's like Nacho without the N or like Macho without the M without ever just. We'll keep it simple for the world. But yeah. I mean, I'm so grateful for you. I'm grateful that we're having some of these conversations about what does work look like, what does faith look like. What does fear look like? What does that look like? Better yet, what does success look like? I think the more we talk about it, more realize that all success doesn't really look like what a lot of us think. Sometimes success looks like letting go.