By Lisa Zimmerman, Player Engagement Insider
The English poet William Cowper wrote more than 200 years ago, “God moves in mysterious ways.” Scott Galbraith’s life certainly serves as evidence of that – and he’d be the first one to agree. He’s also living proof that a person’s past doesn’t always have to dictate his future.
It’s been a circuitous, and sometimes bumpy, journey for Galbraith; the former tight end who played nine years in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers, and who currently serves as the pastor of the Jerusalem Church of God in Christ in San Francisco, the team chaplain for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and a transition coach for NFL Player Engagement. But it was after years of a lot of irreverent behavior that Galbraith finally found his way to the pulpit.
Galbraith’s football career happened, seemingly by accident. Growing up with an older brother and two younger sisters, religion was always strong presence in his family’s life. His father, an electrician by trade, became an ordained minister when Galbraith was in the tenth grade and started his first church in the family’s living room. It was around that same time, that Galbraith started to get serious looks for his football prowess at North Highlands High School, in North Highlands, California, just north of Sacramento. When the University of Southern California offered him a scholarship, Galbraith could not have been more surprised, or more unprepared, especially since early on, his grades left something to be desired.
“My parents were just holding out hope for a C,” Galbraith laughed. “College was something that to me was spaceship time. College? USC? God has a sense of humor. I was a deer in headlights. Talk about being in over your head.”
But, he got his grades up and off he went to the Pac-10 powerhouse and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration (the major he selected because it required the least amount of math) and where in spite of his complete lack of attention to the potential for post-college football, he didn’t go unnoticed by NFL scouts.
However, that still wasn’t enough to dismiss Galbraith’s skepticism. He had started to toy with the idea of a life in public service, but that plan quickly came to an end when he was selected by the Browns in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL Draft.
Thus began his NFL career and with it more than a few youthful indiscretions. He admits to ignoring almost all of the advice his father tried to give him in those early days. But, as his career began, in Galbraith’s words, “to sputter,” he started to put serious thought into the next phase of his life. Once he retired, he went through the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Academy, but soon realized law enforcement wasn’t for him. He also earned his teaching certificate and taught at Sacramento High School – ironically, math and science – where he also coached the football team. But then he started feeling a “nudge.”
At the time, he was having some financial issues and had created a bit of a negative reputation for himself in the community. Like many other players he struggled with the transition from the NFL and was, in general, feeling great discomfort with his life. That’s when it all changed.
“I was in a dark place,” he said. “And I realized I was having a calling to preach the gospel. I got myself to stop long enough to say, ‘I need a wife, I need to clean my reputation up. You need to meet God for yourself.’”
He soon met his wife, Carla, a physician, and they were married in 2003. The couple now has two daughters in addition to the son and daughter Galbraith has from previous relationships. Then in 2005, he became ordained and found himself following directly in his father’s footsteps. Now in his role as pastor and transition coach, he uses the lessons he learned along the way to help his parishioners, as well as his fellow NFL players, many of whom are dealing with challenging transitions themselves, and is experiencing the most rewarding time of his life thus far.
“I get to navigate people around the bumps in the road,” Galbraith said. “I come from a person that’s been in the belly of the beast so they think it’s authentic. My friends are a little taller than your friends, but that’s the only difference. For everyone out there who’s bumped your head, don’t throw in the towel.”