Tommy Mann

The NFL has received a black eye, and I’m not just talking about a punch from Ray Rice. The National Football League has always had a few bad boys, but they were isolated events. Michael Irvin had drugs and Michael Vick had dogs; there were off the field issues with Adam “Pac Man” Jones and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. But today’s NFL seems to have given way to the thug culture, where violence, substance abuse, and fathering babies out of wedlock has become the norm. Ray Rice sucker punched his then-fiancée, and his team may have tried to cover it up so he could play. Greg Hardy assaulted and threatened to kill a former girlfriend. Adrian Peterson beat his toddler with a switch to the point that he had lacerations on his legs and buttocks. And although Ray MacDonald maintains his innocence, he was just arrested for hitting his pregnant girlfriend. These recent stories follow last summer’s unfolding drama of the alleged murders committed by Aaron Hernandez. The NF...

My hometown has ejected God from the football field. Orange County, which includes Orlando, made a decision this season to not allow Christian chaplains to minister to student athletes. Chaplains, which are a staple on almost every sideline, typically lead players in voluntary pre- and post-game prayers, and are there for players in time of crisis. The public school system went a step further, banning Bible verses and references to the Bible from campuses. The decisions came after a threat was made by the Freedom From Religion organization. The very name of this organization is unconstitutional. The Bill of Rights guarantees us freedom of religion, not freedom from it. If people do not want religion, they have freedom from it, but the State cannot infringe upon the rights of those who do want religion. Liberals are quick to cry, “ Separation of church and State !” But they fail to see that the line of separation goes both ways. The Founders’ fear was not that the Ch...

As a diehard Florida Gators fan I grew up pulling against Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles. To me, the perfect weekend included a Florida win and a Florida State loss. I used to hear that Coach Bowden was a Christian. But to be quite honest, in my mind it was hard to accept that someone could be both a Christian and a Seminole. It seemed that the latter meant he was living in sin. In all seriousness, it was always hard not to like Bobby Bowden. He was the epitome of class on the sidelines, and he graciously handled his termination from FSU (he has more wins than any other major college football coach, and he coached on a field that was named after him; how can you fire a living legend?). A few years ago Georgia coach Mark Richt told me about his salvation; he confirmed the rumor that I had heard. A football player at FSU was murdered during a bye week, and Bowden took the opportunity to tell his players that they needed to be right with God because...

I was disappointed with Ted Kluck’s biography of Robert Griffin III. It is a Thomas Nelson book, sold in Christian bookstores, and is sub-titled “Athlete. Leader. Believer.” But there was very little Christian content in the book, and the author seemingly praises RG3 for keeping his faith to himself (calling him “a refreshing change from the nonstop evangelism of the Tebow brand”), and the book even contained a curse word.* I chose this book as a football fan who knows little about RG3 as a person, and after reading it I still know little about the person. It became evident that the author has never spoken to the quarterback, which leaves a biography like this lacking. When talking about Griffin’s decision to play football at Baylor, he says, “We may never know why he chose Baylor.” I’d bet that we could know if someone asked him. I’d also bet that this information is available if the author did some looking. It’s hard to believe that he would never be asked about how he chose...