Pro Football Hall of Famer Jared Allen joined "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning to reflect on the emotional speech he delivered during his enshrinement ceremony, where he paid tribute to his Christian faith, his wife, and his daughters — making clear that life’s true priorities extend far beyond football.
"That's what my life's always been about. It's how I was raised. [They're] the most important things to me," he told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Charlie Hurt.
Over the weekend, the former Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs star was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, where he spoke movingly of his "walk with Christ" and addressed his wife and daughters directly.
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To his wife Amy, he said, "I am in awe of you every single day, and I love you more than life itself."
To his daughters, Brinley and Lakelyn, he said: "You two are my greatest accomplishments. When I get called home to heaven one day, if all they talk about is this gold jacket and my career, then I failed miserably as a father, a husband and a friend."
Allen said he never expected his heartfelt speech to have the impact it did, adding that he was trying to make some people laugh at points and give a good message to his children at others.
"The Bible tells us, you look at when Paul and Peter were in front of the Sanhedrin, and God said, 'Don't worry about what they say, I'll give you the word.' So for me, I was just trying to deliver a heartfelt speech to my family and my friends and my teammates and just let people know what I was about," he continued on Tuesday.
Allen's wife and daughters appreciated his shout-outs in the moment, but he hopes the message resonates even more deeply as the girls grow older.
"I'm hoping… they continue to look back on those moments and understand how to achieve greatness in whatever you do, not just athletics. I always tell my kids, you've just got to find your passion. You've got to chase it. Figure out what your purpose is and go after it with a full head of steam, and that's all I really want for them, so I hope that's what they take from it."
Original article source: Hall of Famer Jared Allen puts family above football success in heartfelt Canton speech
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