Will Christian Athletes be Forced to Choose between Their Careers and Their Convictions?

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Aug 28, 2017

Will Christian Athletes be Forced to Choose between Their Careers and Their Convictions?

Professional sports are finding more and more ways to advocate for the LGBT movement, but for Christian athletes, the support has presented a dilemma.

Joseph D’Hippolito writes in a column for TheFederalist.com that Christian athletes are facing a decision in their sport.

“The rapid mainstreaming of homosexuality now has a powerful ally, whose most important employees could find themselves choosing between their consciences and their careers,” he says.

In professional sports, the Women’s National Basketball Association was the first professional league to have a float in New York’s Pride March. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver moved the 2017 All-Star Game to New Orleans from Charlotte after North Carolina passed a law that prohibited transsexuals from using public restrooms that did not correspond with the sex they were born with. The NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference also both moved their championships out of North Carolina.

But for Christian athletes, the support for the LGBT movement is leading to a stand for biblical beliefs, D’Hippolito says.

When the United States Soccer Federation announced plans for the national women’s team to wear jersey with rainbow-colored numbers for certain matches, Christian athlete Jaeline Hinkle left the team for “personal reasons.”

In 2015, Hinkle has said of the legalization of same-sex marriage:“This world is falling farther and farther away from God… All that can be done by believers is to continue to pray.”

Former Houston Astros player and Christian Lance Berkman also voiced opposition when the city of Houston tried to push a measure through that would allow transsexuals to use restrooms of their choice. The proposition eventually failed.

“First of all, as a Christian, I feel like I have an obligation to take a stand for what I believe is right,” Berkman said. “I’m not about pushing my belief system on other people. But I am about articulating my belief system and taking a stand on it when I have the opportunity.”

 

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: August 28, 2017



Will Christian Athletes be Forced to Choose between Their Careers and Their Convictions?