Colorado State football coach and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has come under fire from the anti-religious group Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) over his use of the team's chaplain. Sanders asked Pastor Dewey Smith to pray for the football team after the Sept. 22 victory over Baylor University.
FFRF issued a scathing statement 4 page letter Mr. Sanders criticized Mr. Smith, who leads the football team at a public university, arguing that having him pray constituted an “unconstitutional religious activity.”
“Coach Sanders' teams have no choice but to give up their scholarships, give up playing time, or receive outstanding recommendations from their coaches for vocally expressing or voluntarily refusing to engage in unconstitutional religious activities.” “There are many young, impressionable student-athletes who strongly disagree with his beliefs,” the letter said.
“Coaches exercise significant influence and power over student-athletes, and athletes are subject to their guidance. Using a coach's position to promote Christianity is an unconstitutional form of religious coercion.” is equal to
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Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the North Dakota State Bison at Folsom Field. (Ron Chenoy-USA Today Sports)
This is not the first time FFRF has targeted Sanders for celebrating and practicing Christianity.
When Sanders first took over as head coach at the University of Colorado in 2023, FFRF expressed concerns about Sanders' previous public display of faith with the team. As a result, the university ended up giving him additional training on the boundaries of religious expression in public institutions. The university said in a statement that Sanders received training on anti-discrimination policies and Establishment Clause requirements after being hired.
But this time, organizations supporting Mr. Sanders have intervened. First Liberty Institute issued a response to FFRF's letter, arguing that Sanders had a legal right to bring prayer into the team's locker room.
Keisha Russell, a constitutional law attorney at First Liberty Institute and former federal law clerk for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, told Fox News Digital that Sanders brought a pastor into the team's locker room. He said there is legal precedent as to why there is a right to do so. .
“FFRF's letter is completely inaccurate,” Russell said. “There are a lot of lawsuits that we know about chaplaincy programs and the government putting chaplains in public places, which is clearly allowed.”
While no Supreme Court case has ever focused specifically on chaplains in public school football locker rooms, Russell said if the Sanders case were to rise to that level, evidence from previous cases would I believe we will win easily.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court sided with Bremerton High School football coach Joe Kennedy, who was suspended and then fired for saying a short, silent prayer after a football game. First Liberty Institute filed a lawsuit against the school district, arguing that it is wrong and unconstitutional to prohibit coaches from praying silently because it is visible to the public. On September 1, 2023, Coach Kennedy returned to the field after the game and knelt in prayer.
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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders before the North Dakota State game on Aug. 29, 2024, in Boulder. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
“When you combine this with what the Supreme Court has said recently about religion and students, especially the last Kennedy Coach case, these students are at an age where they can distinguish for themselves what they want to do in their religion. “That's the situation, and I don't think there's anything wrong with coaches inviting players in for inspiration,” Russell said. “This practice is definitely constitutional, and it is very likely that they will uphold this practice as appropriate under the First Amendment.”
Shortly after his first divorce from ex-wife Carolyn Chambers in 1998, Sanders said he committed to Christianity after having his first two children, Dion Jr. and Diondre. Sanders spoke about his dedication to Christ in a November 2023 interview with Bear Grylls on “Running Wild.”
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Coach Deion Sanders points to the scoreboard from the sideline during the Rocky Mountain Showdown against CSU on September 14, 2024 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. (Chris Tiller/USA Today Network via Imagine Images)
“That's when I went through my first divorce. I knew then that the only people who really loved me were my two children. Now they're gone, now they're taken away. It was traumatic and I had suicidal thoughts,” Sander said. “I ran this car off the side of the highway, and at the bottom I thought this car was going to roll over, but it didn’t roll over and I was still there. I just had to come to the Lord.'' I threw my hands up and said, “This is it, I've given up.''
At his inaugural press conference last year to mark his appointment as the new president of the University of California, Sanders praised God.
“Of all the people in the world, God chose me,” Sanders said. “For that I thank God. For that I love God. For that I praise God. For that I praise God. I am indebted to God for that. Every day I try to please Him.
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