Brotherhood of faith: Close bond between Derek Carr, Demario Davis leads to 'Night of Worship' (2024)

There is an old saying that the most segregated hour in America is 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

It's a time when Black people go to their church and white people go to theirs.

So for New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis, it was a no-brainer when quarterback Derek Carr pitched the idea of the two of them joining forces to host an event they are calling "Night of Worship." The event, featuring gospel recording artists CeCe Winans and Tauren Wells, will be held Tuesday night at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans.

“I think what makes this such a groundbreaking moment is — being born in Mississippi and being born in the South, when you’re a part of sports, that’s so unifying. It brings fans together with all different types of backgrounds. (Sports) brings together players in the locker room of all different types of backgrounds that you can kinda become immune to racial tensions. Racial tension is a real thing that exists in our country — whether you’re operating in spaces where it doesn’t affect you so much or not — it’s always happening around us.

"When you have an African-American like myself and a Caucasian like Derek coming together, people are able to see our unity and our brotherhood.”

Davis and Carr, whose lockers are just a few feet apart in the Saints' locker room, have become close friends since Carr’s arrival in New Orleans last season. You can see it in moments like when they jog together from one drill to the next like they did during a recent practice.

Their skin colors are different, but their uniform colors are the same.

Also the same is their strong Christian faith that they are always willing to share, which is why Tuesday’s event is so important to them. This is something Carr has wanted to do since he came to New Orleans. The hustle and bustle of moving to a new city and learning a new offense hadn't allowed it.

Now he’s much more settled in, so the time was right.

“This is giving our city a chance to see who we are and come together and give God the praise,” Carr said. “It’s inviting everyone to a space where we can talk about Jesus and see what happens.”

When tickets for the free event became available, they were gobbled up in just over an hour, which is what Davis and Carr expected.

“Tickets are going to be going like hot cakes, like Willy Wonka tickets,” Davis predicted on social media a few days earlier.

The crowd is expected to be one of all different backgrounds, much like what you would see in the Superdome on a Sunday at a Saints game.

“When it comes to the spirit of God and Christ, we are one, and it’s about bringing everybody together from all different type of backgrounds and cultures,” Davis said. “We want to be a picture of what heaven looks like. I think you see it with me and Derek’s brotherhood and relationship. If it can happen with us, it can happen with anybody.”

Carr, whose first season in New Orleans was mixed with peaks and frustrating valleys, also will deliver a message at the event. For him, it’s a chance for people in New Orleans to see a side of him that he hasn’t been able to share much here. It’s something he did often during his time in Oakland and Las Vegas with the Raiders.

“I’ll get to let the city hear me preach, hear me speak, hear my heart, hear who I am,” Carr said. “People from across the city will come and get to know me and hear my heart and hear how transparent I am and how I love people.”

But "A Night of Worship" isn’t about Carr.

It’s much bigger than that.

“We don’t have to stop our leadership with our team,” Carr said. “We can take our unity and what causes us to love each other and take it into our city. All backgrounds, all cultures and all job titles can get in a room and worship Jesus, because that’s what the kingdom looks like, that’s what heaven looks like. If I present the gospel in a way of encouragement the way a leader does, everyone should be leaving differently than when they came in.”

And when Carr and Davis say everyone, they mean everyone, no matter the color of their skin. They've both been in churches where the congregation and the leadership was diverse.

“We want to bring people together,” Davis said. “Kinda like the game does.”