After searching for articles on religion in sport, I came across a few that caught my attention. The investigation of the Champions for Christ (CFC) by the NFL, Mahmoud Abdul-Raufs refusal to stand during the playing of the national anthem, and Brandon Pardon feeling so pressured into praying by his coach and fellow teammates that he quit the team. I hope you will find these issues as interesting as I did. The Champions for Christ (CFC) was founded in Austin, Texas in 1985, and is primarily made up of athletes, including A.C. Green of the Dallas Mavericks, who is a vice president of the group, and Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green, who is a board member. According to Dave Jamerson, a spokesperson for CFC, said that their sole mission is to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the athletic world and to rise up Christian leadership. The controversy involving the Champions for Christ rose when an agent of CFC, Greg Feste a Texas businessman, signed a contract to represent Curtis Enis. Enis, who is a rookie with the Chicago Bears, accepted Christ through Balls influence. Afterward, Enis fired the agency that represented him because of an alleged arm-twisting to get athletes to tithe CFC. But both CFC and Feste deny and collusion was behind the deal. It is not official that an investigation will take place but the NFL stated that it was not an attempt to interfere with the religious beliefs of players, but was motivated by a concern that players could be taken advantage of financially. The National Basketball Association (NBA) indefinitely suspended Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, formerly know as Chris Jackson, for refusing to stand during the playing of the national anthem. Abdul-Rauf’s initially refused to stand during the nation anthem because he believed Islam and the Koran mandated nothing should interfere with his relationship with Allah. At times, he remained in the locker room during the ...
