Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders Flat-Out Refuses To Comply With Demands From Anti-Religion Group
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has reportedly refused to comply with demands for him to “stop infusing the football program with Christianity.”
The former NFL star and the CU program have been targets of an anti-religion group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) due to the use of a team chaplain. The group claims the team is full of impressionable young men and the coach should not be allowed to have a chaplain pray with them.
Coach Prime was criticized by the FFRF after he had Pastor Dewey Smith pray over the team after they beat Baylor last September. They released a four-page document lashing out at Sanders, also claiming that the prayer amounted to “unconstitutional religious activities”
“Coach Sanders’ team is full of young and impressionable student athletes who would not risk giving up their scholarship, giving up playing time, or losing a good recommendation from the coach by speaking out or voluntarily opting out of his unconstitutional religious activities – even if they strongly disagree with his beliefs,” it read.
“Coaches exert great influence and power over student athletes and those athletes will follow the lead of their coach. Using a coaching position to promote Christianity amounts to unconstitutional religious coercion.”
It appears Sanders has no plans to make changes based on what the FFRF has to say.
Another Organization Comes To Deion Sanders’ Defense
The organization has pursued Sanders in the past, raising concerns about his displays of faith within the program when he started working as the head coach in 2023. This prompted the university to give him extra training on the boundaries of religious expression in public institutions.
The FFRF’s latest move has been met with some resistance, however. An organization called the First Liberty Institute responded to the letter, claiming that Sanders was not breaking any laws by having prayer sessions in the locker room.
“FFRF’s letter is beyond inaccurate,” Keisha Russell, a constitutional lawyer with First Liberty Institute explained. “The cases that we do have about chaplains programs and the government providing chaplains in public life, there are a lot of cases about it, and it’s clearly allowed.”
Sanders coached his team to a 9-4 record last season after their 4-8 finish at the end of his first season. He has been linked with the Dallas Cowboys, who are seeking a new head coach after parting ways with Mike McCarthy.
