This past Saturday night I was glued to the television as I commandeered the screen from my daughters to watch the two Final Four basketball games.  Riding high on the euphoria of seeing tiny Butler (only 6 miles from their home campus) beat Michigan State for a spot in today’s national title game, I decided to check in periodically on the West Virginia-Duke game.  Duke continued to pull away for most of the game and I was just about ready to turn it off when something tragic, and touching, happened.

West Virginia’s star player, Da’Sean Butler drove to the basket, planted his foot and fell to the court in pain.  Replays showed (and why they continued to show them, I don’t understand) his left knee buckling and we all knew he was done for the evening and quite a bit longer.  West Virginia’s controversial and tough coach, Bob Huggins, came storming onto the floor to complain to the official and then he saw the pain on Da’Sean’s face.  It was in the moments that followed that my perception of Coach Huggins completely changed. I’ve always seen him as a gruff, complaining, overbearing coach who rarely smiled and always yelled.

But in that moment Bob Huggins dropped to the court next to Da’Sean and gently cupped his face in his hands and whispered words of solace into this young man’s ear.  Now, my girls can tell when I’m about to cry and Kelsey asked, “Dad, are you ok?” I told her to watch the TV screen and see the compassion, the love, and tenderness this coach is showing to this star senior player. Da’Sean was inconsolable and (as was told in interviews afterward) kept telling his coach that he was sad to let the team down and if they needed him he would get it taped up and be back on the floor.  Coach Huggins just kept holding this young man and telling him he had nothing to be ashamed of…he was proud to be his coach and everything was going to be alright.

That was one of the most moving and incredible moments I’ve ever witnessed in sports.  I’ve seen plenty of athletes grit it out and put on amazing performances but never before have I seen this kind of gentleness and compassion from coach to player.  It reminded me of the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 116: 5–”The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.”

Bob Huggins’ display of compassion moved me today to consider God’s great compassion for me, his son who strays and gets hurt and tries so hard to impress Him.  It reminded me that his compassion and grace are not based on my performance or achievement. He simply loves me daily because I am His creation. Yesterday we celebrated and remembered Easter, God’s power and love expressed in Jesus’ dying on the cross for you and me and being raised from the dead. My sin is conquered, my past is forgotten and I can walk in confidence with the power of God’s Spirit renovating my life all because the bonds of death could not hold Jesus in the grave.

Thanks, Coach Huggins, for not being afraid to show your players (and the world) just how much you really care. And thank you, Jesus, for “when I was in great need, he saved me.”