NBC continues to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by highlighting the one man's personal career sacrifice to give back to his community.
For most of his life, Haruki Rocky Seto was better known for having a playbook than a Bible, but the former USC football player turned NFL football coach gave up a nearly seven-figure salary as an assistant coach for a chance to lead his community. Now, he's best known as "Pastor Rocky."
For nearly two decades, Seto earned big money and coached at a high level. After his playing days at USC wrapped up, the son of Japanese immigrants landed a job as an assistant with the Trojans. Eventually, the USC connection led Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll calling Seto to Washington State and a dream job as an assistant in the NFL.
"He's a mentor, coaching mentor," Seto says about Carroll. "He's a friend. I adore the man."
Carroll reciprocated the feeling, "As we developed our relationship and our history, he kind of kept me on track year after year."
When Carroll encouraged his staff to take time to learn about themselves off the football field, Seto took the opportunity to further his interest and knowledge in the Bible and sought to build a stronger connection with his church back home.
"He would ask me about pastoral ministry, and all I wanted to talk about was footbal," Cory Ishida, the senior lead pastor at Evergreen Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley says.
Ishida had known Seto for 18 years and the two had a natural rapport because of their shared interests.
"His love for sports was an easy connection for us," Seto says about Ishida.
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"If I weren't a pastor, I'd be a coach," Ishida says.
Ishida saw more than football in Seto's future because he viewed the football coach as a "man of integrity." The pastor saw several similarities between qualities in a coach and a leader in the church, and Ishida saw that Seto had the required leadership qualities to be a successful pastor.
After 18 years on the football field, Seto agonized over the decision before surveying the landscape and calling an audible in 2017. He gave up his nearly seven-figure salary as a leader of football players for the chance to become a pastor and a leader of a congregation, instead.
Seto, though, did not turn his back on football.
"I think the greatest seminary took place on the football field, the lessons God taught me through playing the game and coaching the game," he says.
Now, the Bible is his playbook.
"This is my game day now," Seto smiles.
