The Freedom From Religion Foundation is releasing today an updated edition of our groundbreaking “Pray to Play” report exposing how religious coercion still permeates college athletics.

A decade after our original investigation uncovered public universities using athletic department resources to support team chaplains, FFRF’s legal team has revisited the story to investigate what has changed — and what hasn’t. After more than a year of research, including public records requests to more than 40 colleges and universities, we found that religious pressure persists, even if direct taxpayer funding for team chaplains has diminished.

READ THE NEW PRAY TO PLAY REPORT.

Our investigation reveals:

• Coaches and athletic staff promoting Christianity through team activities, motivational materials and religious programming.
• Team chaplains receiving extraordinary access to student-athletes, locker rooms and athletic facilities.
• Evangelical organizations cultivating close relationships with coaches and players to recruit athletes into religious ministries.
• Student-athletes facing pressure to conform to religious practices for fear of losing playing time, scholarships or standing with teammates.

From Auburn and Tennessee to Texas A&M, North Texas and Boise State, the report documents troubling examples of religion becoming entangled with publicly funded college sports.

The bottom line: Student-athletes have a right to their own beliefs — including no religious beliefs at all — and should never be expected to pray to play or otherwise engage in religious rituals or activities in order to curry favor with coercive coaches.

At public universities across the country, student-athletes are facing religious pressure from the very people who control their playing time, scholarships and athletic futures. Public university coaches should develop athletes, not pressure them to practice religion.

“Coaches hold enormous influence over their players’ futures,” says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “That authority should never be used to advance religious beliefs or make students feel that their opportunities depend on religious conformity.”

The report concludes, “At public universities, student-athletes have the right to participate in athletics free of religious proselytizing, promotion or bias from school employees.”

READ THE NEW PRAY TO PLAY REPORT.

If you know a student-athlete, coach or college sports fan, please share this investigation. And if you or someone you know has experienced religious coercion in college athletics, FFRF wants to hear about it.

Contact studenthelp@ffrf.org. All complaints are handled confidentially.

Thank you for helping us defend the constitutional rights of all student-athletes.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation

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