Athletes as God and God Helping Athletes

There are many ways in which sports and Christianity overlap. The two share a dynamic and complex relationship. Two situations in which individual athletes interact with Christianity, which I find are both equally interesting and important, are: athletes are supreme god-like beings and God’s role on the playing field.

Athletes as Supreme, God-Like Beings

LeBron James, also a known as “King James”, has been portrayed as a god-like athlete. He is worshipped, idolized, and has a strong legion of “believers”. The slogan “we are all witnesses” was first introduced by Nike in November 2005. In June 2007, this particular advertisement (photo) was released as an “integrated marketing campaign” to celebrate James’ first appearance at the NBA finals. What, exactly, were “we” witnessing?

 

The world was witnessing LeBron James’ apparent “greatness, power, athleticism, and beautiful style of play”. I, personally, don’t follow the NBA, nor do I know very much about LeBron James but this advertisement and this marketing campaign is all too blatantly similar to Jesus or the second coming of the Christ. His outstretched arms below a sea of black nothingness, the melodramatic effect of the black-and-white design, and the Biblical slogan are almost too much for one to handle. The image may be too small to make out the small print at the bottom-left corner, but it says: “believe at nikebasketball.com”. As Leah mentioned in her post (Athletes and the Fall from Grace), viewing athletes as more than just a standard of good role models will almost always leave fans disappointed. In my response, I agreed what she said, however, I also said that athletes should understand that as a result of their membership in professional leagues, they should be prepared to be seen as role models to the public. This portrayal of LeBron James as almost the second coming of Christ is over-the-top and offensive.

God’s Role on the Playing Field

Similarly to celebrities thanking God at award shows, athletes often thank God for their success during games or competitions. Many athletes attribute their wins to the “power of God” and claim God played an important role in helping them succeed. How often have we seen basketball players pointing to the heavens after scoring a basket? We have also witnessed Olympic athletes dropping to their knees in prayer after winning gold medals. Did God really help them win? If so, did God want them to win over their opponents? While I’m sure most of us can think of several times we have seen or heard athletes thanking God after wins, how often do we hear athletes blaming God on losses? I have only come across this one time. Last year, Buffalo Bills player Steve Johnson took to twitter to blame God after dropping the game-winning pass in his team’s overtime loss. "I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO..." I do believe that spirituality can impact the holistic health of a person and can ultimately affect performance in sport. However, I am skeptical to think that God would personally have a hand in helping a certain athlete or team win over another.

Athletes as God-like figures and God’s role on the playing field are only two examples of how athletes and Christianity overlap. This speaks to the complexity and dynamic relationship between sports and religion.