Former NFL linebacker O.J. Brigance, who said “God’s grace is sufficient” as he battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), has died at 56 after fighting the neurodegenerative disease for nearly two decades.
In a statement published Monday, the Baltimore Ravens announced Brigance’s death following a 19-year battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The team said: “A Houston native, Brigance originally landed in Baltimore with the Canadian Football League’s Stallions and helped the team win the 1995 Grey Cup championship. Years later, he was a linebacker and special teams standout on the Ravens’ Super Bowl-winning team in 2000. Brigance set the tone with the first tackle of Super Bowl XXXV.”
“His seven-year NFL career ended following the 2002 season, but he returned to the Ravens in a personnel role in player engagement,” the statement added. The Ravens said Brigance “kept coming to work despite his physical limitations” and “had a profound impact throughout the Ravens organization, providing guidance and perspective to players, coaches, and personnel.”
Several members of the Ravens’ leadership paid tribute to Brigance. Ozzie Newsome, the team’s executive vice president, remembered him as “a hero to this city long before his courageous battle with ALS” who “became an even greater inspiration in the way he faced it with the same fight, faith and grace he brought to the football field.”
Former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh echoed that sentiment, praising Brigance as “a man of great faith who was given a very challenging purpose, and he met it perfectly in every way through the great glory of God.” Harbaugh added that he looks forward to “seeing him again in heaven someday.”
As Newsome and Harbaugh noted, Brigance was outspoken about his Christian faith. In a 2019 interview, he said, “I have been able to remain positive throughout the diagnosis because of my faith in Jesus Christ.” He added, “God’s grace is sufficient no matter my physical weaknesses.”
A tribute video posted this week on the Ravens’ YouTube account features footage of Brigance saying: “You don’t know that your faith is real until a man sits across from you and tells you that you will eventually die. The very body that I had honed, trained, beat into submission is now beating back on me. And so now, it becomes more of a test of will, a test of my faith.”
In 2013, as he presented the Ravens with their American Football Conference championship trophy, Brigance told the players: “Your resiliency has outlasted your adversity. You are the AFC Champions. You are my mighty men. With God, all things are possible.”
In 2015, Brigance testified before the Maryland Senate against a bill that would have legalized physician-assisted suicide in the state. “Every day, every hour, every minute, every second is God given and valuable,” he told lawmakers. “To enact this legislation would [risk] lives and possible future contributions of Marylanders.”
“Since being diagnosed, I have done greater good for society in eight years than my previous 37 years on earth,” Brigance said. “I don’t know how many days I have left to live, but everyone has a purpose. The thought that there would be a legal avenue for an individual to take their own life in a moment of despair, robbing family, friends and society of their presence and contribution to society deeply saddens me and is a tragedy.”
Brigance established the Brigance Brigade Foundation to help people diagnosed with ALS and their families. He also wrote a book in 2014 titled Strength of a Champion: Finding Faith and Fortitude Through Adversity.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
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