Deion Sanders Keeps Sharing Faith With Student Athletes Despite Legal Pressure
By Movieguide® Contributor
Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders faces a legal pressure from the Freedom From Religion Foundation for “imposing” his faith on his team. The group recently issued a formal warning against him.
In 2023, the FFRF wrote to the University of Colorado “regarding constitutional concerns with new football coach Deion Sanders’ promotion of religion and potential religious coercion through the football program.”
The letter cited court rulings that struck down “school-sponsored proselytizing in public schools” and a ruling that extended their scope to college-aged students “when institutional circumstances create a coercive religious environment.”
The letter took particular issue with a prayer Sanders directed a staff member to lead players and coaches in before a team meeting.
The prayer reads:
Lord, we thank You for this day, Father, for this opportunity as a group. Father, we thank You for the movement that God has put us in place to be in charge of. We thank You for each player here, each coach, each family. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The FFRF wrote to the University of Colorado again in September 2024, claiming “It appears that Coach Sanders was not as receptive to the training as the university may have initially thought,” according to FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence.
READ MORE: DEION SANDERS STANDS AGAINST ATHEIST ACTIVISTS AS RIGHT TO PRAYER ATTACKED
Sanders isn’t on his own in this fight, though.
According to Relevant Magazine, “First Liberty Institute, a conservative legal group that defends religious freedom cases, has stepped in to support Sanders, arguing that the FFRF is misapplying the law. They point to the long-standing tradition of chaplains in public spaces, including within sports teams, as evidence that Sanders’ actions do not violate the Constitution.”
And the coach doesn’t seem to care about the warnings he’s gotten for sharing his faith. Just last week he hosted a Zoom call with the entire football team and Hollywood actor Denzel Washington, who encouraged them in their faith.
“When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too,” Washington told the team. “But eventually good things grow out of that mud. Or fame ain’t all it’s made up to be. Power and privilege and fame and wealth. Hopefully you’ll see, but it’s not all it’s all made up to be. So yeah, you can pray that it rains on you, but you got to deal with the mud. You’ll be looking up and look down and realize you’re seven feet deep in mud. It’s thick. People don’t like it.”
The actor added later on, “We are in the world, but don’t be of it. Don’t rely on it for your happiness. Rely on the Almighty. Do not rely on this world for your happiness. Because it’ll tell you Tuesday that they love you and Wednesday that they hate you. They probably said that about your team. You know, it’s not consistent.”
“Today is an opportunity to be the best you that you can be,” Washington concluded. “Whatever comes your way, whatever obstacles come your way, what an opportunity to overcome them and do better. C student, what an opportunity you have to be a B student. A student, what an opportunity you have to help that C student. Help each other. Protect each other. That’s why they call it a team. You’re a unit.”
READ MORE: ATHLETES PROCLAIM JESUS’ NAME THROUGHOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL
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