Case Study # 3: The Force Multiplier

How do you define ‘grit’?

Mission 6 Zero prepared a Life Skills presentation for the Minnesota Vikings specifically focused on guidance from their head coach, Mike Zimmer, “I want you to help my guys with overcoming adversity, being resilient, and grit.” A few weeks after the Mission 6 Zero Life Skills presentation, the internalization of our message about overcoming adversity and having grit revealed itself in an incredible display of selflessness and toughness.

Star Minnesota Vikings safety Antone Exum knew he was badly hurt during a game earlier this month. But even with thoughts about his own mortality crossing his mind, the Minnesota Vikings' safety chose to stay in the game.

"Thoughts went through my head: 'I could die out there,' just for the simple fact that I didn't know what the problem was," Exum told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in an email. "But I knew we didn't have anyone else [to play] safety."

Exum suffered a fractured rib and an injured AC joint in his shoulder trying to tackle Seattle Seahawks tight end Luke Willson in the first quarter of a game Dec. 6. However, because the Vikings were short-handed at the position, he chose to keep playing even though he wasn't able to run at full speed with the injuries.

"I was feeling a pain in my chest with every breath and motion," Exum wrote to the Pioneer Press. "It was scary because I didn't know what it was."

Antone Exum played after suffering a fractured rib in a game vs. Seattle earlier this month. "I was feeling a pain in my chest with every breath and motion," Exum told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "It was scary because I didn't know what it was."

He was placed on injured reserve two days after the game.

"I knew that the way I compete sticks to a code of never giving up," Exum wrote to the Pioneer Press. "I knew that it means a lot to the guys next to me. Therefore, I couldn't come out.

"I know I didn't play my best game, and that hurts me because I left it all on the field from an effort standpoint and we came up short. But I'm a warrior and made a choice to keep playing when I thought my life could have possibly been on the line. That, I can live with."