Think about how atheist groups respond to Christian proselytizing on high school and college sports teams. In general, we send letters warning teams why this is a problem at secular schools and remind them they must keep everything religiously neutral.
That’s it. We don’t say “you must promote atheism.” We don’t say you can’t proselytize off the field. But when coaches are on the clock, they shouldn’t be preaching or using the opportunity to promote their faith.
According to Steve McConkey, the President of the Christian sports ministry 4 WINDS, that makes us the “Atheist Gestapo.”
Atheist Gestapo Putting an End to Christian Activity in Sports
…
“The secular school system is a puppet of atheists even though they claim to be neutral,” says 4 WINDS President Steve McConkey. “Christian free speech is being attacked as most educators are trained at universities that have put God on the shelf and have accepted different forms of Marxism without God. However, many Christian teachers have not bought into the system.”
Obviously, he’s just plain wrong. Christianity is alive and well in sports culture — just watch a football player after a touchdown or a post-game press conference and you’ll see plenty of shout-outs to God. No one’s saying any of that needs to stop — though we’ll always question the logic of it.
Also, atheists aren’t out killing Jews. That’s very low on our priority list.
As atheist athletes across the country will tell you, it’s not easy being openly non-religious, especially on teams where Christianity is prevalent. In fact, it’s that prevalence that has allowed Christian coaches to think they can get away with leading prayers on duty — they just assume everything believes the same way they do.
What’s really appalling is how McConkey builds up his resume at the end of that press release:
Starting in 2003, McConkey protested the International Olympic Committee for allowing transgenders to compete. During the last few years, he has taken on the International Olympic Committee, US Olympic Committee, and the NCAA for their LGBT policies.
In other words, this guy has made a name for himself by becoming an obstacle for LGBT inclusivity in sports. He’s proud of being an asshole. It’s not enough that everyone else has the same opportunity that he has, he wants to make sure Christians have special rights that would never extend to people of other faiths and no faith.
(Image via Shutterstock)
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