Who can stop him?
As a hypothetical if a liberal minded star college player tells interviewers that specific conservative leaning schools he has won against lost because God has found them morally wanting by being homophobes, who can stop him?
Let’s further assume his school’s administration is liberal leaning and is not putting the screws to him to keep quiet. Can any authority shut him up? It’s not like anyone can dock his salary.
His coach.
Simple as that. There is no coach in his right mind that will let his team become a voice for politics. If a player does start spouting off and making controversy, his ass is going to be riding the bench.
Suppose the star player is carrying the team? Suppose the coach supports his right to free speech? Is there ANY external authority other than his school and the coach that can tell the player to STFU?
No. But there really is no other authority than that. What other authority would there be?
The school/coach (private authority), and the state (public authority) would be it.
If the kid goes to a state school, the two overlap- there is an issue with the State suppressing the speech.
The kid doesn’t give up any free speech rights to the NCAA, as far as I can tell.
Interesting read here: Warning- .pdf
Seems like poor sportsmanship to me.
Exactly. If you think about it, there’s no authority to prevent a pro player from doing the same thing. The worst that could happen is for him to be released if his higher ups don’t like what he’s saying in pubic.
The college player has no salary to dock, but he can be sat or dismissed, so it amounts to the same thing.
Astro, you are grasping for a difference that’s just not there.
No. Just curious over what the limits to his free speech would be. I think the pros can fine you for talking smack. If you have supremely talented college player who expresses his wins as God’s judgment of his opponents moral failings and the coach is not inclined to tell him to shut up can he just continue being obnoxious as long as the coach lets him get away with it?
The answer seems to be “yes”.
Apart from the religious context, isn’t this Johnny Manziel?
There’s still no difference though. If a supremely talented pro player starts talking controversial politics, and the pro coach is not inclined to tell him to shut up, and the owner of the team allows it, who’s to stop that? Nobody, because it’s a first amendment issue.
You also seem to be hung up on the “God’s judgement” thing. Is there something you’re thinking and not telling us?
Heh 
If it happens like the OP says, it’s probably football, what with battle, power, victory and words like that which are thrown about the bible, but also words that tend to appear in “inspirational” verses when players looking for “guidance” read or are told about verses much like that. Verses involving battle and victory are more likely heard in a locker room, whereas verses about soul searching and self enlightenment might appear backstage to inspire actors/musicians to feel confident.
That’s just my experience attending a high school with a team named “Crusaders” (I wrestled, and heard plenty about battle) and was band director for “Godspell”.
There doesn’t seem to be any shortage of players, coaches or managers that will declare it “gods will” when they win, so declaring the loss of another team as “god’s judgement” seems a fair turnabout
It’s an interesting thought experiment re how apeshit a school like Alabama or Penn State would go if they were accused of being sinners and that is why they lost.
No, astro, it’s really not. If you have an agenda here, just come out and say it.
The league could suspend or fine the player for conduct detrimental to the NFL’s public image. Pro sports leagues’ collective bargaining agreements have very broad allowances for the league to do such things to protect their image.
Actually, it really is. People pray to God for their sports team’s victory all the time. If they believe that crap (in their hearts, most of them don’t, is my belief) then of COURSE it’s God’s judgement against the losing team if the prayer’s team wins.
And on what basis does God judge people and their institutions? Their morality.
It’s kind of OBVIOUS that this is the case, and yet no one ever brings it up. Of course, things are somewhat complicated by the fact that prayers are generally offered by supporters of both teams in any given game, but I guess God sorts out the more moral teams from the less moral teams.
Looked at in this way, all of sports is just a way of sorting out which is the most morally superior team. The throws, the catches, the runs, the goal line stands … all are just puppetry, all that really matters is how well the players and coaches implement the stuff they learned in Sunday School.
Nothing in the Constitution guarantees the right to play football.
You certainly are allowed to make the statement, but you can’t expect that there won’t be any consequences. And in college football, the coach is in charge.
Look, I’m as athiesty as the next guy, but you’re trying to ascribe a logical, intellectually tidy reasoning to a behavior (praying) that is for most practitioners nothing more than an expression of emotional desires, communicated in a way that fits into their religious worldview.
The fact that two opposing people will both pray for a win, yet not admit/consider that the consequence is that they are each asking for God to punish the other guy is definitely frustrating, silly, and a topic for another thread for sure. But I don’t think that you can apply logic and say, “that guy praying for a win is really saying that the other team are ungodly sinners,” because that’s not, generally, what praying is about.
98% of the time I see a player or coach praying, it’s for them to play to the best of their ability. I cannot remember the last time I’ve heard a player or coach pray for a win. Yet in every thread like this, that’s all that people talk about.
Having never read an NFL contract, there are clauses prohibiting the players from “conduct unbecoming to the game”. It has only been enforced because of criminal proceedings (except for Ben Rothlisberger who was benched for four weeks because he was accused of sexual assault), however there have been other times when players have been benched or fined for other silly reasons, including:
… Jim McMahon’s headband
… Terrell Pryor’s 5 game suspension for actions that occurred while in college (Ohio State)
… Plaxico Burress, who was suspended for shooting himself in the leg at a nightclub
So, under Roger Gooddell… yeah, I can see a player getting suspended if they said God hates the other team. Hell, I can see that player facing NFL fines and suspensions even if they said this while still in college… just ask Mr. Pryor. 