Showing their spirit: athletes and religion

Mention God and eyeballs start to roll like dice on a table.

As more athletes publicly express their faith, how are fans of different backgrounds supposed to feel when baseball star Sammy Sosa points his index finger to the heavens before he steps into the batter's box? Or when former Seahawks quarterback Jon Kitna is fined $5,000 by the NFL for wearing a baseball cap embroidered with a cross? Or when Storm guard Betty Lennox spills into a monologue about how God led her to winning the WNBA championship last fall, along with the Finals MVP trophy?

The question is particularly relevant in the Northwest, the most unchurched region in the country. Yet, while seated comfortably at a game, fans listen to "Jesus Walks" by noted hip-hop artist Kanye West as dancers groove to the beat. Afterward, they hear comments like, "Thank God the shot went in," "Thank God he missed that field goal," or "I just prayed we'd win."

"It's just plain silly," said Dan Barker, 55, a minister turned atheist, and a spokesman for the 5,300-member Freedom from Religion Foundation. "When you throw a football and you pray, do the laws of nature change? Does the elliptical curve of the ball through the air suddenly swerve, or what? Is God blessing you for winning and is God cursing the other team for losing? Just the arrogance of that; it's one thing to be happy and thankful, but to put it on religion, it's so uncivil, because everybody has different religions."

Lorenzo Romar, coach of the University of Washington men's basketball team, understands what Barker is saying. Romar uses the example of an athlete who preaches the Lord's sermon one day only to be arrested the next to show how sports can twist what he believes are the positive messages of religion.

After five seasons in the NBA, Romar played seven seasons — including three as a player/coach — for Athletes in Action, the athletic division of Campus Crusade for Christ. When he began playing with the organization in 1985, they made halftime speeches about their faith. Sometimes 19,000 people in the stands would be listening. Now the message is given after the game, and maybe a couple hundred stay.

Still, the challenge remained the same — battling perception.

"I wouldn't say He's not interested in sports, but I don't think He causes games to be won or lost," said Romar, 46, who remains Athletes in Action's all-time assists leader. "There were certain toys that my little girls had when they were younger that I wasn't interested in. I didn't go get me a little doll, but because I loved them and that was so important to them, then those little things were important to me. I think that's how God looks at sports."

A connection

It's about an hour before the Sonics host Denver at KeyArena. Rick DuPree, Seattle's director of player resources, tapes a small sign on the wall next to the entrance to the weight room. It reads simply "Chapel at 6 p.m.," with the Sonics logo adding color to the glossy, white paper.

DuPree was hired by the organization Nov. 1 as part of the NBA's four-year-old development program helping players make the transition to the fast-paced, big-money league.

DuPree, 42, envisions the program as a trust-based outlet where a player can come to him with any issue and receive assistance. So far, he has helped rookies Damien Wilkins and Robert Swift find cars and set up bank accounts.

DuPree, a minister and former Washington football player, and his wife of 21 years have served as married-couples ministers at Mount Calvary Church in the Central District. He has already established relationships with Luke Ridnour, Danny Fortson and Wilkins, among the most visibly religious players on the team.

"I've been living this lifestyle for 22 years and I've learned by example that you don't force the issue. You lead by example," DuPree said. "And after awhile people start to notice there is something different about you. When there's a lot of cursing and you don't curse. Or they see that you're devoted and faithful to your wife; things like that start to come out."

Ridnour and DuPree especially connected through religion.

Ridnour, a 23-year-old playing in his second season, draws a small cross on the inside of his left wrist before each game to remind him that God is the reason he's here. He said he also demonstrates his attempt to live the "right way" by making sure not to curse or hang out at clubs.

"When you say you've given your life to the Lord, people are always trying to catch you in something," Ridnour said. "So, I'm always aware of what I'm doing and who I'm with. I try to lead by example."

Storm assistant coach Jenny Boucek said she wouldn't have been receptive to listening to the word of God if it had been pushed upon her. Her WNBA career ended with the defunct Cleveland Rockers with a back injury in 1997, which prompted her to attend chapel before games mainly because she "had a lot of time to kill."

Boucek, a 31-year-old from Southern Catholic roots, said she was very skeptical about religion and religious people.

"I still am," said Boucek, who said she went through a three-year journey to find Christ. "(But) the Biblical principles are very, very consistent and parallel with the things that are successful in sports and in team environments."

A perfect fit?

Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander said his eyes widen when he sees a tackler make a big hit. He thinks, "That dude must be saved. And if he isn't, I'm thinking about how sweet it would be if he did know the Lord."

To a nonbeliever the statement is confusing. Wasn't it the player who spent all those hours practicing? And wasn't it a teammate that helped set up a winning play?

"You tackle for the Lord, not your coach," Alexander explained.

Sitting on the sideline, it doesn't make sense. Players who make headlines for drug use or spousal abuse are thanking God for wins. Others, like Alexander, who complained when he came up short of the NFL rushing title, seem to be focused on individual accolades instead of the betterment of the team. For Boucek, it's all usually misinterpreted.

"A lot of people misunderstand that and think that God is cheering for certain teams or not cheering for certain teams and that's what we're implying," she said. "That's not it at all. God does have a reason for why we (Storm) won the championship and why Connecticut didn't, but I don't know what those are. I may never know."

At the same time, Barker doesn't see the need to bring it up at all.

"Christianity is not true," he said of his reasons for becoming an atheist. "The evidence is not true, the arguments are not good and there's absolutely no need in the world for these religious beliefs. You can live a good life, happy life, moral, productive, without them. Some people think it's an even better life because you're not hindered with these negative self-images that most religions preach."

A player's psyche may lead them to religion, however. Spirituality is a perfect fit for those who need something to motivate them to compete and something to lean on in hard times. At least, that's what Boucek believes.

"It's a pretty lonely, isolated, unstable profession, to say the least, and if you don't have something more stable in your life to be a foundation, then I think you're going to struggle," she said.

God told me

Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens is the latest.

He was recently asked whether he will play in the Super Bowl despite an injured right ankle that needed two screws and a plate to be stabilized a month ago. Common sense says no, but Owens brought religion into the conversation.

"What a lot of people don't realize is that I've been doing a lot of rehab on my own, a lot of healing on my own," he told reporters. "But spiritually, God is healing me, and I'm way ahead of where a lot of people expect me to be, even the doctor."

The argument between science and faith is one Washington guard Kayla Burt knows vividly.

She had a cardiac arrest on New Year's Eve 2002, was hospitalized for one week and had a defibrillator implanted in the right side of her chest. She didn't play during the 2003-04 season, but as she sat on the sideline serving as a student assistant coach, Burt felt the pull of basketball dragging her back.

The university gave her permission to rejoin the team in August 2004. And Burt's family absolved Washington from any responsibilities should another occurrence arise.

But Burt isn't concerned. Burt, who became a Christian her senior year of high school, testified at her church, Calvary Fellowship in Mountlake Terrace, further placing her life in God's hands.

"There were about 2,000 people there, and I was very nervous. It was not easy," she said of the moment where she read some cards that were given to her during her hospital stay. At the end of the speech, almost everyone was misty-eyed.

"I feel like He opened this door for me to play again, and if He didn't want me to, this opportunity wouldn't be so wide open," Burt said.

Injury is often a time when athletes are drawn to religion.

For Jarron Collins, a forward/center for the Utah Jazz, it was during the 2003-04 season when he missed 60 games while recovering from a knee injury.

"It was, 'Why me; why did this happen?' " Collins said of his thoughts at the time. " 'What's the purpose in this?' My grandmother told me that God does things for a reason. You have to look at it in a positive kind of way."

Crossing lines

Coincidentally, Burt has at least 10 UW teammates and a coach who believes as she does. They'll file into the chapel service offered before games and sometimes go to church together. Before games there's usually a silent prayer and the players fall to their knees after introductions before tipoff.

The Washington men's team is similar. Romar noticed his players were already praying before games, so now it's a more formal routine. He keeps a blue leather-bound Bible in his office and initiated a Bible study on Tuesday nights for his staff.

While coaching at UCLA, Romar was told to be careful not to cross the lines of church and state at the publicly funded school. No one has issued the same warning at Washington, but it does raise a red flag for nonbelievers.

In 1994, Wisconsin was in a heated debate over its football chaplain traveling with the Badgers. Rev. Michael Burke's 17-year association with the school's football program, which included going on paid trips with the team, was unconstitutional and ended after a complaint from Barker's Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. The university also prohibited coaches' sponsorship of pregame prayers and had Burke lead them in team prayer only after a player vote.

Barker's foundation files lawsuits regarding use of religion in all public sectors, but said sports complaints receive the most animated responses. When two Mormon Wisconsin players complained to them about the Catholic Burke leading prayers, letters and phone calls poured into Barker's office.

"It wasn't like, 'Don't mess with my God,' it was, 'Don't mess with my sport,' " Barker said. "It's something about sports and religion that makes people more fighting, more aggressive. It's almost like sports are more holy than God."

Locally, Storm guard Sue Bird's father is Jewish and Sonics guard Ibrahim Kutluay is Muslim, yet neither complains about a society dominated by Christian thought.

Kutluay, who is from Turkey, does notice differences here. His native country is about 99 percent Muslim, often working prayer into the daily routine. In Seattle, Muslims make up less than 1 percent of the population. Last week his family celebrated Bayram, a three-day national holiday where lamb is eaten along with other dishes. Kutluay said being away made him feel lonely.

"Sometimes I want to be with my family, of course," he said. "But I'm a professional basketball player and I came here to play basketball. This is my job, so it's over.

"All religions are the same, (Americans) believe in God and I believe in God. Our book is different and we have different things to do, but I believe all religions are the same."

Even Collins believes the same after spending part of his time in Salt Lake City. Roughly two-thirds of Utah's residents are Mormon. The Jazz has a "Family Night" on Mondays that coincides with the faith's designation of that day as quality time with the family, and there haven't been any Sunday games since the 1998-99 season, when NBC dictated the schedule.

Otherwise it's really not any different.

"It is a different sector," Collins said. "But the LDS (Latter-Day Saints) faith, I don't feel the influence as the perception might be. I will say that our community is very religious. I don't know how to describe it accurately, but it's like living in a big village where everyone greets you with a smile and says 'Hello.'

"I'm from Los Angeles ... people (in Salt Lake City) aren't as jaded as L.A. or New York. But that's it. Certain themes that are stressed in Utah and by the organization — family-oriented, good living, good parenting, thank-yous and pleases — are things I believe in, too, so I have no problem."

And in the end that's what most people like.

"When you seek the truth, you'll find it," Boucek said. "I was really seeking the truth, and I don't think anything else would have sat right. There are a lot of ways you can get there, but I think it all comes down to one truth."

God is popping up a lot these days in postgame interviews with athletes and coaches. Most quotes invoking religion don't make it into stories, but some have. A sampling:

"Spiritually, God is healing me, and I'm way ahead of where a lot of people expect me to be."
-- Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens talking about his healing right ankle, which had two screws and a plate placed in it a month ago. Doctors have not cleared him to play in the Super Bowl.

"Me and my mom pray about it, and we're going to let God decide where He wants me to go. When He decides, in His way, we'll know."
-- Timberline High running back Jonathan Stewart to The Seattle Times in 2004, discussing his college decision. He ultimately chose Oregon.

"That was not Betty Lennox playing out there, that was God working through me. I have to thank Him for helping me achieve everything we achieved tonight."
-- Betty Lennox after the Storm won the WNBA championship and she was awarded the Finals MVP trophy in October 2004.

"I actually had coaches say I was reading the Bible too much and it was taking away from my play. It was OK when we were winning, but now I was (messing) this thing up? People were saying I had lost my job because of my faith."
-- NFL quarterback Kurt Warner said while with the St. Louis Rams in 2004 to a Baptist press Web site. He later retracted the comment, saying in a statement, "It was my intention to give an inspirational message about keeping the faith and fighting through adversity. I simply wanted to encourage people to stay true to themselves in good times and bad."

"I want to thank my God, Jehovah, who gave me the strength to compete because you guys were tough on me. I still love you. ... How many people do you know go out there and jeer a 19-year-old? I'm a kid. I play tennis."
-- Serena Williams after beating Belgium's Kim Clijsters in 2001 at the Tennis Masters Series in Indian Wells, Calif. The crowd was upset at her sister Venus for pulling out of the final due to a knee injury.

"No matter how many times you tell it, it just gets better and better. We ran that play for four weeks (in fall camp), and we did not connect once. We ran it probably 20-25 times. And two plays before that, we missed it right off his fingertips. For some reason, that play came upon me to be called. I don't know what really, I don't; it's just divine intervention. You'd think after putting your money on that card, and missing it all those times, we weren't gonna call it again."
-- QB Brock Huard in 1998 to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about a 63-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Davis that gave Washington a win over Arizona State. He said later in a radio interview that a friend saw the holy spirit fly from Huard's arm.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com