A recent installment of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, “The Minister of Defense” (now streaming on ESPN+), chronicled the extraordinary career, complicated life, and profound spiritual journey of NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Reggie White. Now, ESPN introduces a new podcast – Through the Flames: Reggie’s Church – which focuses on one unfortunate in White’s life – the mysterious 1996 burning of his church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In the midst of a rash of mid-1990s church burnings across the United States, White’s Inner City Church boasts a growing interracial congregation, and after the building is firebombed and reduced to ashes, White believes the attack is the work of racists. The NFL legend and pastor uses his platform to maintain public pressure on the investigation, even as the sensitive nature of the crime causes government officials to tread carefully. As the story unfolds, questions are raised about the church’s financial status, along with the possibility of arson. The podcast brings the story to life through the voices of those involved with the church and the investigation – and in the process, draws a powerful parallel between these ugly incidents and the deeper challenges the nation still faces.

A three-time Emmy Award winner, Courtland Bragg is a Director and Producer at NFL Films, the film/television production company of the National Football League. In addition to co-directing the ESPN 30 for 30 “The Minister of Defense” and producing /hosting the Through the Flames podcast, Courtland was a director on multiple seasons of Hard Knocks for HBO, All or Nothing for Amazon and A Football Life for NFL Network.