As a left tackle, Matt Lepsis was athletic enough to frustrate Dwight Freeney.
Yet for the life of him, Lepsis could not block out God.
For many, the revelation Lepsis played high through the first six games of the Broncos’ 2007 season was jolting. I’m not so naive to think Travis Henry is the only Bronco who has tried drugs, but Lepsis didn’t seem like the type. He was not only nice, he was unfailingly polite. He didn’t talk much, but he laughed easily.
“I know a lot of people will look at this and say, ‘Here we go again, another professional athlete who got mixed up on drugs, was in the gutter somewhere, and decided to become religious,’ ” Lepsis said Friday from Dallas, where he is studying at a theological seminary. “My story couldn’t be any further from that. I didn’t grow up in the church. I wasn’t at rock bottom. I’m not stupid. I didn’t seek God, God was seeking me. This happened to me and it can happen to you if you accept the free gift that God has given us.”
Drugs and God may be intertwined in this story, but people should know the sensational had far less impact on Lepsis’ on-field performance than the spiritual.
Lepsis had been an occasional drug user since his college days at the University of Colorado, but it wasn’t until after the 2006 season that it became a habit.
“For the first time in my life I had found the answer to a problem that I saw in my life, which was my shyness,” he said. “Socially, I was a wallflower. And then all the sudden I found Matt Lepsis medicine.”
Which leads to the core reason why people do drugs: They make you feel good.
Eventually, Lepsis made the leap to doing drugs on his way to work. Some time during the high times and fast life of Matt Lepsis, though, he started having moments of reflection. It struck him as odd that he would buy a car and a month later, he would want another one.
“I’m like, what’s going on here?” he said.
Prior to the Broncos’ fourth game of the season against Indianapolis, Lepsis sought out kicker Jason Elam, an ardent Christian, during a plane ride. Lepsis had begun his flight toward a life with Christ, although the takeoff was bumpy.
True story. When Lepsis approached Elam a couple of weeks later, he said he was ready to become a Christian. But could he continue his drug habit?
“As funny as it sounds now, I was completely serious,” Lepsis said.
Luckily for Lepsis, but not necessarily the Broncos, the drug habit was easier to break than the embrace of the Lord.
“For the first time in my life, I understood who Jesus was and why he died and the sacrifice he made, and I was completely consumed by it,” Lepsis said. “It was a pretty radical thing that happened to me right in the middle of season. I could not concentrate on football anymore.”
As the Broncos were getting ready to play the Detroit Lions in their eighth game last season, Lepsis was praying to become saved. How did Lepsis play? After the Broncos were humiliated 44-7 by a Lions team that has since lost 23 of its last 24 games, coach Mike Shanahan chewed out just one player in the following week’s team meeting. Guess who?
“Coach Shanahan is brilliant at realizing when a player isn’t giving all he’s got,” Lepsis said. “And that’s why he’s been such a successful head coach. He can see when a player is not all there.
“I understand what he was doing. It’s just that I couldn’t give what I didn’t have. Halfway through the season, I was no longer a football player. I was a reborn Christian. It’s a tough thing to go through that during an NFL season. When you’re going against guys that good and that talented and you’re not 100 percent into it, you’re going to struggle.”
The morning after the Broncos’ final game in 2007, Lepsis told Shanahan he was through with football. It takes courage for Lepsis to come forward with his story because so many will dwell on the stumble and ignore the walk.
“I totally understand the risk involved,” he said. “But at the same time, man, this is my story. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s what happened to me. I feel like it needs to be told because there are a lot of people who look at NFL players and say, ‘these guys have it all. If I could be half as successful and make half the money that they do, I would be so happy.’ And it’s such a lie. I know that God gave me this story to share it.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
