Pro Athletes Putting Their Faith in Action

By Ralph Gould

Remember the story where a successful young business executive told his pastor that he had some good news and some bad news? The good news, he said, is that I have just got a raise and am now making $200,000 a year. The bad news, he continued, is that I can't tithe anymore because $20,000 a year is just too much to give. After gulping in disbelief several times the Pastor said, "Well, John, I think we should get down on our knees and ask the Lord to reduce your income so that you may tithe again."

"Living without giving is like missing two-foot putt."

That’s the belief of Chi Chi Rodriguez, the popular PGA Seniors Tour golf champion- the smiling face under that familiar Panama hat.

That’s also the belief of many professional athletes in all major sports according to a recent flurry of stories in major newspapers and on network radio and television news programs.

It has long been established that religion and faith in God play an important role in the lives of both collegiate and "pro" athletes on a personal basis. Now, however, the advent of more and more professional athletes making $1 million or more a year has added a new dimension to the athlete’s faith. According to the news stories more and more of these professional athletes are practicing tithing, the Biblical guideline to give at least 10 percent of one's income back to God.

One of the newer participants in the "giving-back-to-God" trend is Darryl Strawberry, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ slugging outfielder whose published 5-year-salary is $20.25 million. "It’s not my money; it’s the Lord’s money," said Strawberry in a national news story. Think of this- a tithe, or 10 percent of Strawberry’s salary is more than two million dollars! Strawberry’s teammate, star pitcher Orel Hershiser, is another tither, a player who is not timid about giving God all the credit for his phenomenal success on the baseball diamond and in his private life. In a radio interview with Dr. James Dobson (Focus on the Family) recently Hershiser said he feels great accountability to be a role model to young people. He believes that athletes have a responsibility to leave a good impression on the youth of America.

Chi-Chi Rodriguez, a rags-to-riches golfer, is concerned with underprivileged kids. His pride and joy is The Chi-Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation for troubled and abused youth in Clearwater, Florida. Chi-Chi says, "It’s not the kids who have a problem, it’s society." And Chi-Chi is trying to do something about it. Among many other things Chi-Chi and golfing legend Jack Nicklaus get actively and personally involved in the "chi chi and the bear (Nicklaus) kids klassic golf tournament" to benefit the kids and the foundation. Dave Winfield, outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, a Lutheran, has also established a Foundation to help disadvantaged kids. And Glenn Davis of the Baltimore Orioles is supporting two youth homes as a reminder of his troubled childhood. Teammate Gregg Olson, all-star relief pitcher for the Orioles and the 1989 American League Rookie of the Year, is not the least bit shy about telling about his faith. As reported in The Lutheran, July 1990, Olson, whose home church is Holy Cross Lutheran (ELCA) in Omaha, Nebraska (where his mother and father still attend) said emphatically, "You know whatever else happens, God’s always going to be there."

The list of well-known Christian "giving" athletes is a long one and Howard Johnson of the N.Y. Mets, Tim Burke, Montreal Expos and former Cleveland Indian pitcher Doug Jones are all "high rollers" salarywise and top givers in major league baseball circles. New York Yankee relief pitcher Lee Guetterman cites Biblical references to his giving habits and he doesn’t stop at 10 percent of his $1 million a year salary. Reportedly, Guetterman gives 10 percent to his home church and another 5 percent for other’s needs- a total of 15 percent, or beyond tithing.

This faith in action is not restricted to just baseball players. Football, basketball, hockey, soccer, track and field athletes are included in a long list of "giving" athletes. There are Christian-based Bible study groups and team chaplains in just about every major team sport including the oft-publicized Baseball Chapel where reportedly some 40 percent of all players participate in this league-wide service. And on the college level there is the well-known Fellowship of Christian Athletes which attracts high caliber athletes like a friend of mine, Earl Campbell, Heisman Trophy winner and former Houston Oiler back who was recently elected to the Football Hall of Fame.

Barry Sanders, the running sensation of the surprising 1991 Detroit Lions NFL football team it’s said, tithes to his home church in Wichita, Kansas. And Reggie White, the Philadelphia Eagles lineman who devours in the NFL, is a tither and a vocal Christian who makes no "bones" about it. Steve Largent, record-breaking pass-catching end, now retired from the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team, is now on the staff of Focus on the Family working to strengthen the values of the Christian family- a committed Christian.

A recent newspaper column emphasized that the Super Bowl NFL football champions, the Washington Redskins, are a spiritual team. The columnist reports that in a chapel service before the Big Game there was not one reference to the game itself — not one prayer for victory, or even one for no injuries. The entire time, said the writer, was spent "exhalting the name of Christ Jesus our Lord."

Redskins coach Joe Gibbs never thinks that God takes sides in football, but his faith prompted him to create a home for delinquent boys called Youth For Tomorrow. And Darrell Green, a five-time All-Pro Redskin has created a foundation, "Quest Learning Center" to work on the academic skills of kids with computer-assisted instruction, and to teach them about Jesus. Green says, "My heart is about Jesus Christ, not about football. My first call is to love my neighbor as myself."

Unpublicized to a great extent are all of the things professional athletes do to help others in charitable events. Players have many different ways of expressing their faith, most of which we never hear about.

We may never know what all of the Christian athletes give, or in the many ways they give, nor is it any of our business to know how much money they give, but we do know that many of these athletes practice Christian humility and put their "faith in action" on the playing field and off. These highly-skilled athletes are thankful for their God-given abilities which makes them so great. And they understand, too, as we must, that the important thing is not how much you give, but how you give. I’m sure they are well aware of the Widow’s Mite story in Luke 21:3-4: "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in all she had to live on."

The bottom line is, that contrary to popular opinion, many professional athletes are "givers" not "takers" and I, for one, salute them.