Raiders TE Darren Waller: “I’m Meant to Be Here… It’s not by Accident”

In the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox came back from three games to none, eventually forcing the New York Yankees to Game 7. During the do-or-die situation at Yankee Stadium, famed Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez was unexpectedly called to the mound in the seventh inning while the Sox were up 8-1. “I had no business being in that game,” Martínez told In The Moment’s David Greene. “I had a day’s rest.” Martínez had just pitched in Game 6 and was not supposed to play, especially with such a large Boston lead. He only had a few pitches to warm up, and Martínez let up two runs, giving the Yankees momentum. It was a tense inning, and Red Sox fans were dreading a repeat of the 2003 season, when the Yankees won in Game 7. But Martínez drew strength from Yankees fans, who were taunting him with chants of “Who’s Your Daddy!! Pedro! Pedro!!” He eventually retired Yankee’s John Olerud and Miguel Cairo to escape the inning. The Red Sox went on to beat the Yankees 10-3 and advanced to the World Series where they would sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. That championship was the first one for the Red Sox in 86 years, breaking the infamous “Curse of the Bambino.” All these years later, that season is one of the most memorable in baseball history. And it still leaves Martínez wondering how he ended up on the mound. “I’m still searching for an answer,” he said. “No one explained to me why.”

In Religion of Sports' latest podcast series, Host Iggy Monda takes listeners inside America’s locker rooms and field houses to explore hazing in high school sports today. Through deeply personal stories of kids who have hazed, parents who have fought for accountability, coaches who are scared of what their players do when they’re not looking, and people who have hazed others, he ultimately asks why hazing is so ingrained in American culture – and what it says about us. Follow ROS Presents: Roughhousing for the full series.

American-born runner Alexi Pappas competed for Greece in the 2016 Rio Olympics where she smashed the Greek world record in the Women’s 10k. But her journey to the Olympics didn’t fill the void she had expected. Pappas speaks publicly and in her book, Bravey, about the loss of her mother when she was just 5-years-old and the impact that had on her life – on and off the track. She’s now become a mental health advocate for athletes. Pappas sat down with In the Moment’s David Greene to discuss why she considers the 2016 Olympics to be the “end of the beginning” of her life. Greene talks to Pappas about her running career and how she draws on that training as she moves into the next phase of her career.

In the 2006 Torino Winter Games, first-time Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis missed out on the gold in the last second of the women’s snowboard cross final. It was a devastating and unpredictable loss for “America's sweetheart” of snowboarding. Jacobellis would go on to attend the next three Olympic Games, falling short of the podium every time. That was until the 2022 Beijing Winter Games when everything came full circle for Jacobellis and her 16-year road to redemption. Jacobellis sat down with “In the Moment” host David Greene to re-live both of her career defining moments.

Thanksgiving Day, 2012 was a huge turning point for then-rookie quarterback Robert Griffin, III - RGIII - and Washington. They were three and six and their head coach, Mike Shanahan, had already said the season was essentially over. Then Washington did something no one expected when they took on the Cowboys in Dallas. They won. “You go on Thanksgiving and you obliterate the Cowboys, which is America's team, and you go out and you do it in a way that no one’s ever seen it done before,” RGIII told In the Moment’s David Greene. “And that game helped us do it every week after that on the way to the postseason.” Griffin is proud that he spent eight years in the NFL, even after a career-altering injury. He went on to play in Baltimore, and helped serve as a mentor to quarterback Lamar Jackson. He now has a career as a broadcaster for ESPN.

Raiders tight end Darren Waller is now considered one of the best tight ends in the NFL. But just a few years ago, he wondered if he would ever get back to the game. After being suspended for a year from the Ravens for a positive drug test, he was working in a local grocery store and going through rehab. “When I took that job, I had no desire to play football,” Waller told In the Moment’s David Greene. “I was just trying to regain structure in my life.” But Waller did come back to the NFL. The Raiders signed him in 2018. A few weeks later, he was playing in Cincinnati against the Bengals. Waller felt this was his moment to prove himself. He caught a pass for 44-yards. “Just ran like I was running from a dog, put my head back and just ran,” Waller said. David Greene sits down with Waller to break down why that moment meant so much to reviving his career. The two dive into the rollercoaster of a season the Raiders had last year including the controversy surrounding former head coach, Jon Gruden, who resigned after racist emails he wrote surfaced. While Waller says the racist language didn’t sting him personally, he understands why others in the league were offended.

Former NFL Head Coach Tom Coughlin sat down with In The Moment’s David Greene to relive arguably one of the most famous games in NFL history and how he coached the underdog Giants to a victory over the undefeated patriots to win Super Bowl XLII.

The big question in football right now: What will Tom Brady do next? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended their season with a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week. Now, people are wondering if Brady will leave the Bucs, join another team or retire – again. In the Moment’s David Greene spoke to Buccaneers Center Ryan Jensen about what it’s like to protect Tom Brady on the field. And he spoke to him about what led Brady to retire, then unretire last year. Jensen said Brady’s decision to come back to the game came down to one very simple thing.  “Is this how the greatest quarterback of all time is gonna go out?,” Jensen said. “Personally, I didn't see him going out that way.” But will that championship spirit keep Brady in the NFL this time around? Find out about upcoming guests and other news by following Religion of Sports on Twitter or Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter for more sports news.

Andrew Whitworth, also known as Big Whit, spent 16 seasons in the NFL as an offensive lineman – 11 of those years with the Cincinnati Bengals before going to the Los Angeles Rams. Despite being a 4-time Pro-bowler– Whitworth constantly found himself on the losing end of big games. When he finally made it to the Super Bowl with the Rams in 2019, the media narrative was that he was old then.. And this would probably be his last game. But the 13-3 loss to The New England Patriots just kept him going… so he could help the Rams win three years later. Big whit sat down with In The Moment’s David Greene to re-live the moment he beat his old team to win Super Bowl LVI.

On February 23, 1996 then-NBA star Rex Chapman dropped 39 points against Michael Jordan beating the infamous 72-10 Chicago Bulls. Chapman would go on to play 12 years in the NBA. A series of injuries and surgeries lead Chapman to develop an addiction to opioids. Following an arrest, he was able to overcome his addiction, and turn his life around. He talks to David Greene about how he became a beloved social media personality and advocate for people struggling with addiction. Find out about upcoming guests and other news by following Religion of Sports on Twitter or Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter for more sports news.