Former NFL player Ben Watson joined FOX and Friends Friday morning to discuss the controversy over the Head Coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football team, Deion Sanders, who shared a public expression of his faith.
Sanders, who is known for his faith on the field, is under fire for his comments praising and thanking God. Sanders said, “Out of all the persons in the world God chose me, for that I thank Him, for that I love Him, for that I magnify Him, for that I glorify Him, for that I praise Him, for that I owe Him each and every day.”
The University of Colorado issued a statement in response decrying Sanders’ expression of faith saying that “The University of Colorado must take action to protect its student athletes and to ensure that Sanders understands that he has been hired as a football coach and not a pastor.”
The First Liberty Institute defended Sanders for having the constitutional right to engage in religious expression at public universities.
Watson shared that this is just the latest attempt to “silence religious expression in this country,” adding that it is an ongoing struggle. During his 21 years of playing football, Watson said there were numerous times that there was religious expression and no one was forced to be a part of it. One of the “hallmarks of this republic,” Watson said, is the right to religious expression, urging Americans to stand up for religious freedom.
Faith on the field is important to Watson because he said there are believers on the field, and his favorite times in sports have been baptizing others and seeing their lives change thanks to “the power of Jesus Christ.”