Last night, after the Orlando Magic defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals, Magic center Dwight Howard told TNT's David Aldridge that he credited God for his team's victory.
"First, I want to thank God, man, because without Him none of this would be possible. I told my guys before the game if we come out, we play 100%, play hard for 48 minutes, then God is gonna do the rest, and He did it tonight. We got a good victory, man -- it's all because of Him." -- Dwight Howard
I'm not going to quibble with Howard about his religious preference, and far be it from me to know exactly which words would best motivate his teammates before a big playoff game -- for all I know, they could be devout Christians too.
But Howard goes one further by suggesting that God actually had a rooting interest on a basketball game, and that He favored Howard's team. Howard was comfortable enough to make that statement in front of a national TV audience without concern for how his words might be considered dismissive of non-believers. He may not have meant it that way, but it's an example of how our culture reveres the religious -- yet ignores and stigmatizes atheists.
Before I get to the rest of the diary, let me first offer my congratulations to Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. They deserve tremendous credit for dethroning the reigning NBA champs on the road in Game 7 -- and for doing so in convincing fashion. They played great defense and, for the moment, have put to rest the concern that they are too young or inexperienced to win on the big stage. As they prepare for the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers should absolutely be taking the Magic seriously as worthy, championship-contending opponents.
But having said that, this atheistic NBA fan would still like to address a couple points about the notion that God played a role in who wins a sports match. This diary is not really an objection to Dwight Howard per se, but rather the culture that encourages its athletes to project a religious image while simultaneously discouraging non-religious perspectives.
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If we take Dwight Howard's words at face value -- that the Magic's victory in Game 7 is "all because of Him," meaning God -- then we might also assume that he believes this was part of God's plan. In other words, Howard believes God wanted the Magic to win because they "played 100% and played hard for 48 minutes." Does that also mean that God wanted the Celtics to lose? Did the Celtics not also play hard for 48 minutes? They didn't play as well as the Magic, sure -- but I don't believe the defending NBA champs lost for lack of trying, and I certainly don't believe it was in God's plan to reward one team over the other when they were clearly both trying to win.
Instead, I prefer more empirical evidence that might explain why the Magic won. Like the fact that Orlando shot 51.4% from the field, including 13 for 21 from 3-point range and a stunning 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Or the fact that Boston shot just 39.2% for the game. Or the fact that Celtics star Paul Pierce (16 points on 4-for-13 shooting) never got on track. Or the fact that Hedo Turkoglu was on fire (25 points on 9-for-12 shooting). Or the fact that Orlando had 5 more assists than did Boston. Or the fact that Orlando had 8 blocked shots compared to Boston's 3 -- and we haven't even got to the defensive impact that Kevin Garnett might have had were he not injured.
There are a lot of reasons why the Magic won the game -- take your pick. Maybe the statistics aren't the sexiest bit of information, and maybe they don't measure those intangible qualities like hustle, or energy, or player confidence -- but the important thing is that it was the players on the court whose actions dictated the game's final result. Perhaps if Boston knocked down their shots when they had the opportunity, or if Orlando didn't hit so many 3-pointers, then we might be writing a different story. Either way, to say that the outcome of the game rested in God's hands discredits the efforts of the players who left it all on the court. It would have been arguably worse if Dwight Howard had said that the Magic won only because of Dwight Howard -- but again, the emphasis for the team's performance should be on the team itself, and not one individual or one's belief in a higher power.
But you know what? What happened in Game 7 isn't the main point of this diary.
Lots of star, religious athletes praise God for their success in various sports. Kurt Warner gave glory and praise to Jesus after winning Super Bowl XXXIV. Tim Tebow puts his faith as his #1 priority (above his family) and endorses Bible verses on his eye-black. Terrell Owens gives God the glory after making catches. Josh Hamilton credits Jesus with helping him to overcome his cocaine and heroin addiction. Jonathan Horton wears a necklace that says "Thanks be to God that gives me victory" and a bracelet inscribed with a verse from Philippians.
Imagine, for a minute, if any of these athletes were not Christian, but atheists. Now, imagine if they decided to tell everyone on camera that they didn't believe in God and that they didn't praise Jesus for whatever happened on the field. Imagine that one of Howard's teammates was standing next to him after Game 7, and then said to TNT something like, "I don't thank God. We got a good victory, Dwight, but it's not because of Him. I don't believe in God."
What do you think would happen? They would get blasted for it -- by the press, by fellow athletes, perhaps by fans too -- for saying something "offensive." They would be told to shut up and keep their opinions to themselves. After Josh Hamilton's incredible performance at the 2008 Home Run Derby, Rick Reilly callously declared on the air that it was a "lousy night to be an atheist." Reilly ignorantly used Hamilton -- whose incredible journey from drug addict to Major League all-star should rightly be celebrated by any sports fan -- to stigmatize those who do not share Hamilton's religious faith, as though all of us evil, subversive atheists were secretly praying for Hamilton's failure. The message was clear: Promoting religious values in sports are good, but promoting atheism? That's bad.
When Brigham Young wide receiver Austin Collie caught a game-winning touchdown against Utah in 2007, he said this:
"I believe the Lord has truly blessed me. It’s the reason why I’m playing football, and if you don’t believe that, the next time you receive an award, then don’t say you want to thank God first for your success. That is the same exact thing. For people to make an issue out of saying that the Lord helps me out is ludicrous.
He would later go on to say:
"To tell you I got here on my own and that the Lord hasn't had a hand in my success and our team's success and every other athlete's success in this world is just BS, because He's had a hand in every person's life."
See Collie's argument here? "If I want to praise God for how I do on the field, I can do it. But if you don't want to praise God or believe in God at all, then keep your mouth shut. Oh, and if you don't believe what I say, then you're wrong." Collie was criticized on some sports radio talk shows for his comments, but his remarks were, unfortunately, part of our sports culture which values religious athletes but devalues atheistic ones.
Consider, also, that it isn't just individual athletes and sports pundits who use their star power as a pulpit to promote a religious message -- it's the teams themselves. Pretty much every major sports organization has chaplains and connections to large religious organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, and other organizations which team chaplains often refer to as "sports ministries." Here's an interesting section from Tom Krattenmaker's excellent 2006 article in Salon, titled Going Long For Jesus, about the close relationship between Christianity and professional sports:
To promoters of sports-world Christianity, faith is a wholesome force that helps players curb the worst temptations in pro sports -- violence and greed, for starters. Chaplains of pro sports teams say their role is to offer prayer services and spiritual counseling to religious players, whose demanding schedules often prevent them from attending church.
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But the Christianizing of sports comes at a scarcely examined cost, both to fans who would prefer watching the game without a dose of in-your-face religion and, in the view of some critics, to religion itself. The problem is that the sports-world faith movement isn't only bringing religion to professional locker rooms but a potentially divisive brand of conservative Christianity, replete with a worldview shaped by an intolerance of gays and lesbians, women's rights and other religions.
Whatever religion these athletes choose to believe in is their prerogative and their Constitutionally-protected right. I personally don't think less of Dwight Howard simply because he believes in God. Really, I don't. An athlete's religion, or lack thereof, does not matter to me when they step on the field of play. Hell, give me a God-fearing man who can play quarterback for the Chicago Bears and play it great, and I'll more than gladly trade you all the crappy quarterbacks in my favorite team's history, no matter if they were religious or atheistic. I would also venture a guess that no single atheistic Red Sox fan would ever trade in their World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 just because Curt Schilling endorsed President Bush in 2004 and believes that his pitching in the Bloody Sock Game was "God's work."
What I have a problem with is the idea that athletes and sports organizations should be using their high-profile status to spread a religious message, when that message may alienate non-religious fans. I understand that Dwight Howard was happy about his team winning last night, and again, he and his team deserve a lot of credit for that. But his words seemed to carry the sting of proclaiming that God willed his team to victory, and that teams that lose were clearly not given God's grace. It doesn't bother me that Dwight Howard is a Christian. It DOES bother me that he wants to superimpose a Christian cross on the NBA logo.
As an atheist and a firm believer in the separation of Church and Sport, let me state the following: I don't believe in curses or superstitions. I don't believe that a person's religious or non-religious preferences are relevant to how they play on the field. I don't believe that professional sports should be promoting overtly religious messages in their product. I don't believe that athletes are blessed by God with superior athletic ability, but are instead the products of years and years of genetics, evolution, and natural selection. And I certainly do not believe that God would care about who wins the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup, the World Series, or the World Cup.
I just want athletes who are atheists (and I know they're out there) to feel comfortable to express themselves for who they are, without fear of being demonized as a bad person or as someone without good moral values.
So let me offer a suggestion to Dwight Howard and all athletes who choose to use the camera to thank God for their victories in sports: It is okay if you don't. Honestly. I will not think any less of you as athletes or as persons for believing in a higher power, and I'm sure that most fans wouldn't mind if you chose not to promote your belief that God helped you win that game. If you wish to express gratefulness for anything, please be grateful for the fact that you are playing a game as your full-time job. Be grateful for the fact that millions of people look up to you and admire you and follow you all year round in the hopes that your team wins. Be grateful for the fact that you are skilled enough to be working in a profession that not only pays a huge amount of money, but that only a very small handful of people in the entire country ever get to do. Be grateful for the fact that you can do sports for a living when millions of families living in poverty, who live with no roofs over their heads, often cannot even get enough food to survive.
Of course, you are grateful for these things. You have chosen to be grateful to God for these wonderful privileges. I am grateful for my privileges in life, but I also choose to believe that there is no God and never was. I just want other athletes who share my view to know that it is not a problem.
Thanks for reading, and peace to all.
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Brief update: I've moved the paragraph about Rick Reilly's comment about Josh Hamilton above to an earlier paragraph. Haven't deleted anything, just moved a paragraph to a different section.
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Cross-posted at Talking Points Memo