Touching Moment NBA Player Prayed Over Human Trafficking Survivor
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
In an inspiring moment at the conclusion of an interview, NBA player Michael Porter Jr. invited a self-acknowledged victim of sex trafficking to attend church with him and then prayed for her.
For his “Curious Mike” podcast, the Denver Nuggets star sat down with Kat Emrick, who speaks widely on many platforms about surviving the horrors of sex trafficking and how she managed to move forward.
As the nearly one-hour interview wrapped up, Michael Porter Jr. asked her if she was OK with a prayer, something that he’s never done for any other guest on the show.
“Dear Lord, thank you for Kat. I want to thank you — just the woman she is, Lord, and I just want to thank you for the healing that you brought about in her life and giving her the vulnerability and the courage to share her story,” he began, after Emrick said she was “totally fine” with the prayer.
Porter continued: “Just thank you for the woman she is. I ask that make yourself real to her, heal her in ways that she didn’t even know was possible. Show yourself to her, make her whole, give her complete confidence and wholeness in herself, and just help her realize that things that happen to her are not her fault. There’s no shame, there’s no guilt there. You take that all on yourself, and just please show her that we love you, and we appreciate you.
“And we thank you, that even though terrible things happen to all of us, that you somehow can turn that into a beautiful story. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Emrick, a mom of four, admitted that she hadn’t been to church since she was 12, to which Porter responded, “So let’s go on Sunday.”
This encounter is notable in that pro basketball players in the NBA — who spend a lot of time virtue signaling about so-called social justice — are seldom considered exemplars of traditional values or known for a faith-based lifestyle, with the exception of Jonathan Isaac and perhaps a few others or potential pros.
Porter implied that the prayer he made was also for the other victims Kat has inspired, with the help of God, to come forward with their stories and added, “I really hope God makes himself real to you.”
You never know what praying for someone and/or bringing them along with you to church can do for their spiritual or mental health.
This is a journey, moreover, that everyone, one way or another, is on.
This interview was being widely shared at a time when the Biden administration’s wide-open-borders policy has enabled the horrors of human trafficking to become even more diabolical.
Amazing man right here. We need more pro athletes to stand up for their beliefs.https://t.co/9fnbkoOWD4
— Parabolactic Hyperbole (@Beerichey) January 18, 2024
Recent history in particular has demonstrated that conservatives should, in general, wait a minute or a week before heaping praise on a celebrity who articulates principles that make sense or are inspirational and life-affirming.
Michael Porter Jr., one of eight siblings, appears sincere in his Christian beliefs, however, and comes from a family that seems very involved in the church and in athletics.
His dad, Michael Porter Sr., is director of player development for the University of Missouri basketball team.
A small forward who played college ball for the Mizzou Tigers, Porter Jr. is currently averaging about 16 points and seven rebounds per game for the world champion Nuggets.
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