director of player engagement

[temery]

If Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc took turns saying a pre game prayer (or in the huddle), I would possibly agree with the "tolerance goes both ways," sentiment. But that's not the case. Having to accept one man pushing his religion on me for four year would be way over the top.

My hope is this is simply a comment taken out of context, and blown out of proportion.

In fairness some of these recruits (a lot of them, actually) come from terrible backgrounds and often times college football is their first real regimented schedule/disciplinary model. Some/a lot come to schools (not just UConn) with no true role model and religion, whatever religion it may be, can often help in the development from the boy to a man. You see it a lot after games where both teams will gather for a prayer and some players partake, others don't.


I've been inspired by people who are adamant about their faith even though I may not agree with it. Grew up with a good friend who was a practicing Jew. Him taking his faith seriously inspired me to take my own religious beliefs more seriously even though I'm a Roman Catholic. If the kids can sign up to hear one side of it be preached in a classroom why is it awful that they hear the other side of it? I do agree that the above quote about JC always being first in the huddle is extreme but if our players are exposed to one of the many religions out there I don't think that's a bad thing. Tolerance goes both ways, it's something people in our country often forget.

 

[upstater]

In fairness some of these recruits (a lot of them, actually) come from terrible backgrounds and often times college football is their first real regimented schedule/disciplinary model. Some/a lot come to schools (not just UConn) with no true role model and religion, whatever religion it may be, can often help in the development from the boy to a man. You see it a lot after games where both teams will gather for a prayer and some players partake, others don't.


I've been inspired by people who are adamant about their faith even though I may not agree with it. Grew up with a good friend who was a practicing Jew. Him taking his faith seriously inspired me to take my own religious beliefs more seriously even though I'm a Roman Catholic. If the kids can sign up to hear one side of it be preached in a classroom why is it awful that they hear the other side of it? I do agree that the above quote about JC always being first in the huddle is extreme but if our players are exposed to one of the many religions out there I don't think that's a bad thing. Tolerance goes both ways, it's something people in our country often forget.

One side of it be preached in a classroom? Another side on the football field? There is something very wrong about this model.

What sides are we talking about here?

This makes absolutely no sense to me.

 

[upstater]

....and to think how impressed we all are, to hear from you now! LOL
Look, before I judge, lets see how this plays out. Whether you can be an atheist, agnostic, christian, or other, will not be what keeps you from joining the team it is whether you are able to carry someone else who has done their best, but is no longer able.
...And I don't have the answer to the following question but would like to know, what percentage of football players are religious versus atheist? "IF" there is a higher percentage of religious players versus non, perhaps, he is trying to let players know that UConn will allow them to not only belong but to promote their faith in a way that is good for themselves, for the team, and for the community. How would that be bad?

Pat Tillman, Mohamed Sanu, Muhamad Wilkersen, Julian Edelman just some of the guys who don't fit into Jesus's huddles.

 

[upstater]

I don't think they serve dicks in a bowl.

You've never been to Bosnia, I see.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I've heard of "Eat a bag of dicks" but never a bowl of dicks.

More fascinating is that the profanity filter doesn't care about dicks. You can type dick all day long.

Most fascinating is that my kids thought was on our football team the past few years. He even had a middle name- .

And my kids couldn't understand how someone who made so many mistakes could hold the job of head coach, offensive coordinator and still be a player. It usually went something like this.

"Jesus Christ. Call a TO already".
". How do you get a delay of game coming out of a TV timeout?"
". Why would you call a play to reverse the ball and then throw back to the QB who was knocked out of last week's game and just got his bell rung last play?"
". How many false starts is that today?"
". Is it too much to ask for one yard gained after contact this year?"
"Jesus Christ. Are we the only team in America who can't complete a WR screen on offense nor stop one on D?"

And that usually got us to halftime.

As a matter of fact I had to teach my kids that when we go to church it's not proper to do a full-blown face palm after you say Jesus' name.

 

[freescooter]

I don't have a problem with the concept but I think there is a fine line here. As long as people are careful, I have no problem. The danger is that it becomes like what apparently went on at Air Force, for example, where it actually caused internal problems because supposed Christians were effectively pressuring others to participate. Though at Air Force it apparently went beyond just football. Faculty members were pressuring students to attend Bible study and so forth regardless of the religious background of the students. If this becomes a Christians vs atheists thing, with atheists defined to include pretty much anyone not participating in some fundamentalist version of Christianity, it could damage team cohesion. If it's just part of the offerings, and handled in a way that respects others who have different beliefs, its fine. I have some positive feeling about it because his comments about being in touch with all the other religious communities in the area. It is something that needs to be handled carefully.

 

[SAMCRO]

To keep it safe, the prayer in the locker room could be "praise you, God of Abraham...." That covers Christianity, Judaism, and Islam which is probably about 98% of the locker room. Problem solved, disaster averted.

 

[IMind]

can be in the huddle... I'm just hoping that if a WR shows up who wants Allah in there they find some room... and if a Wiccan and a Buddhist show up.. it's okay too...

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Developing and bringing into/outside the huddle everyone's personal and unique inner wisdom. For some it with their experience with JC, others through meditation...its about assisting with personal development which in turn allows for the development of the whole.

 

[temery]

You've never been to Bosnia, I see.

Same for England, but they're spotted.

 

[Drew]

If Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc took turns saying a pre game prayer (or in the huddle), I would possibly agree with the "tolerance goes both ways," sentiment. But that's not the case. Having to accept one man pushing his religion on me for four year would be way over the top.

My hope is this is simply a comment taken out of context, and blown out of proportion.

I never said he should be pushing his religion on his players, in fact i called his quote extreme. But i'm sure recruits know when they voluntarily choose to sign up for uconn football that coach feels strongly about his religion and if he tells the guys "i'm willing to teach you more about my relationship with JC and how I got there" and the player accepts that and wants to learn more there's nothing wrong with that. I don't think it should go any further than that, but again its a fine line.

And honestly how many Muslims play D1 football? I would be willing to say a majority of D1 football players are some form of Christianity. People need to stop being so sensitive and realize that its okay for people to express their beliefs, so long as they're not forcing someone else to listen/abide by them against their own will power.

**Edit: I do think this quote sounds a lot worse written down then it would if you'd heard it in an interview and thats why it's getting so much play. But it's the offseason and we need something to talk about. So here we are.

 

[LRock34]

Not sure why this is such a big deal for people. "Spiritual" growth was only one part of the formula so if a player is an athiest it's probably accurate to say they can simply ignore the spiritual development piece. He didn't say recruits needed to be religious, he only said the players we recruit need to have a desire to do more for others than themselves - there doesn't have to be anything religious about that.

I think this is great. It should play well with all recruits but I bet this will play very well with recruits in the South and Midwest. The program might snag a few kids that we would otherwise miss.

 

[BlueMAB]

The only place this is a controversy is on this board.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

The meaning of team is based on believing in something greater than yourself. While there may be an atheist that plays college football I'm thinking by the time their career is over they have a different belief.

No atheists in foxholes and huddles.

These gentleman would like to have a word with you.

 

[sportsart]

These gentleman would like to have a word with you.

 

[NYCHusky]

Not sure why this is such a big deal for people. "Spiritual" growth was only one part of the formula so if a player is an athiest it's probably accurate to say they can simply ignore the spiritual development piece. He didn't say recruits needed to be religious, he only said the players we recruit need to have a desire to do more for others than themselves - there doesn't have to be anything religious about that.

I think this is great. It should play well with all recruits but I bet this will play very well with recruits in the South and Midwest. The program might snag a few kids that we would otherwise miss.

Not sure why this is such a big deal for people. "Spiritual" growth was only one part of the formula so if a player is an athiest it's probably accurate to say they can simply ignore the spiritual development piece. He didn't say recruits needed to be religious, he only said the players we recruit need to have a desire to do more for others than themselves - there doesn't have to be anything religious about that.

I think this is great. It should play well with all recruits but I bet this will play very well with recruits in the South and Midwest. The program might snag a few kids that we would otherwise miss.

I don't think the issue is spirituality. I personally liked the fact that he would find resources on campus for players to explore religion. The issue is he directly said will be present in the huddle. You can't say something like that at a public institution.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I fail to see how how this picture refutes the idea that there are atheists who willingly serve and die for this country.

Nor do I recall saying there were no Christians in foxholes. The only person here making outlandish generalizations, my friend, is you.

 

[freescooter]

I don't think the issue is spirituality. I personally liked the fact that he would find resources on campus for players to explore religion. The issue is he directly said will be present in the huddle. You can't say something like that at a public institution.

Right. At least in the northeast. Look,one of the ways that UConn is different from Clemson is that in Connecticut most people believe that one's religion or lack of same are really nobody else's business. It is a cultural thing as much as anything else. It is also a way to keep peace. I was briefly in a city in Georgia where the restaurants in town all shut down every Wednesday night so as not to compete with the fish fry at the local Baptist Church. In the northeast, we've been exposed to more varied religions, ethnic groups, and so on for longer and that at least in part contributes to the "hands off" attitude. Even in Connecticut's smaller towns there are likely to be 4-5 different denominations. In our larger cities even more, plus mosques, synagogues and even various ethnic churches of the same denomination. In that mid-sized Georgia town there were 2, a Baptist Church that was mostly white attended (and held the fish fry) and a Baptist Church that blacks attended. As a Catholic I had to drive 10 miles to a larger city in the next county to find a Church.

 

[junglehusky]

I don't think they serve dicks in a bowl.

Step one...

 

[Chin Diesel]

These gentleman would like to have a word with you.

They're not in a fox hole.

The whole point of the saying is that it's easy to be an atheist while standing in front of a gate in calm conditions. It's when you are under fire and duress you tend to have faith in something.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

They're not in a fox hole.

The whole point of the saying is that it's easy to be an atheist while standing in front of a gate in calm conditions. It's when you are under fire and duress you tend to have faith in something.

Utterly ridiculous.

It's not "easy" to be an atheist any more than it's easy to do anything else. Life is a struggle for most folks. Not having some pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (i.e., Heaven) doesn't make it any easier.

There are plenty of examples of people who did not suddenly become theists in the face of death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_no_atheists_in_foxholes#Notable_counterexamples

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

As an atheist myself, I find it funny how people get upset and scared of the big bad JC. Some people act as if you're trying to put Charles Manson in the huddle. It could be worse. This is a big deal? Really?

I was recently talking to a friend about Sean Penn and Dennis Rodman and their buddy relationships with brutal dictators. The response was that they were just trying to branch out and spread good will around the globe. However, when the conversation turned to Tim Tebow (quite the transition, I know), well, that God loving needed a punch in the throat.

 

[gioff23]

but which town will the coach reside in?

It's good to know that after weeks of feel-good stories that had me excited to be a fan of UConn FB again, the BY will continue to find a loss in every win. I understand the staff saw this chain and immediately rescinded plans to issue a press pass.

 

[sportsart]

I fail to see how how this picture refutes the idea that there are atheists who willingly serve and die for this country.

Nor do I recall saying there were no Christians in foxholes. The only person here making outlandish generalizations, my friend, is you.

I quoted a saying that has been around for years. I never stated it to be true. If you had any sense at all you'd have seen the smiley face right after the phrase and figured out that I was just quoting the phrase.

So it's not an outlandish generalization made by me. It's an old phrase. But then again, you've been known to not be up to speed on certain subjects.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Utterly ridiculous.

It's not "easy" to be an atheist any more than it's easy to do anything else. Life is a struggle for most folks. Not having some pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (i.e., Heaven) doesn't make it any easier.

There are plenty of examples of people who did not suddenly become theists in the face of death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_no_atheists_in_foxholes#Notable_counterexamples

I'm sorry you take the expression as a literal, 100% truth.

The wiki-link explains what the basis is for the expression and shows the correlation between finding God in a fox hole.

When schitt hit the fan in combat, they turned to someone and the worse their experience in combat was the stronger the bond.

Are there atheists in foxholes? To empirically examine this question, Cornell behavioral economist, Brian Wansink examined 949 post-combat surveys of World War II American infantrymen and observed that these soldiers reliance on prayer rose from 32% to 74% as the battle intensified. To test the lasting impact of combat on religious behavior, a follow up survey was conducted 50 years later with a different sample of veterans from all branches of service. The second study showed that 50 years later, many soldiers still exhibited religious behavior, but it varied by their war experience. Soldiers who faced heavy combat (vs. no combat) attended church 21 % more often if they claimed their war experience was negative, but those who claimed their experience was positive attended 26 % less often. The more a combat veteran disliked the war, the more religious they were 50 years later. [26]