Freshman Jordan West evades a Ouachita Baptist Tiger in the Rhodes-Reaves Field House Feb. 9, 2019. Harding lost against the Tigers 62-77. I photo by Sterling McMichael playing with purpo Sophomore Romen Martin and junior Tyler Roth started a blog about their faith and playing basketball. S ophomore Romen Martin and junior Tyler Roth were members of the 2019-20 Harding men's basketball team. During s·ummer 2019, they started a blog called "Playing with Purpose." Martin said the idea came from a book the two read together. "We were reading through a book called "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren and started to realize how big the platform that God has given us was," Martin said. "I really admire [Roth's] intentionality because it went from us realizing this to him asking questions and seeking ways to actively use it." Roth said they decided social media was the best platform to share their thoughts. "We basically sat down [and] said, 'Life is short, so let's try it out,' and the first couple posts, it just sort of blew up, and the rest is history,'' Roth said. Roth said the blog was created with the intention of creating a place where current and past members of the men's basketball team shared their stories and experiences with the people around them. By fall 2019, Roth said the blog had approximately 2 ,00 visitors. Head Men's Basketball Coach Jeff Morgan said the blog benefited the team and explained much of what they tried to accomplish every year. 248 "We hope the whole overarching deal is that we know that God has gifted everybody differently, and he has gifted us with this game of basketball,'' Morgan said. "We need to do it in such a way it glorifies him or draws people to him, and we truly are playing with purpose." Morgan said the blog was a great reminder of who they were and that their identity was found in being children of God. "It is more to shed light onto the platform that God has blessed us with." Roth said he wanted the blog to demonstrate that sports were not centered around the player but about the message the players tried to convey. "We did not do this to shed light on ourselves," Roth said. "It is more to shed light onto the platform that God has blessed us with." Both Martin and Roth said they planned to pass the blog down after they graduated to benefit future generations of players and fans. story by Emma Vaughn
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