G-d and Football

Hoover High School, in suburban Birmingham, has gained a little bit of national notoriety this fall, thanks to MTV featuring the Hoover football team in the reality series "Two-A-Days."

A few minor controversies have arisen over MTV's portrayal of the Hoover team, as MTV lives up to their usual standards -- cutting and pasting dialog and filmed scenes into segments that play up conflict and drama. After all, MTV's job isn't to present accurate information, but rather to entertain the viewer and sell commercial space to advertisers.

Hoover's team chaplain, Rev. Terry Slay, has been criticized -- and praised -- for framing football games in a theological context. He portrays Hoover's games as battles between good and evil; sort of odd to depict an opposing team of teenage football players as evil, isn't it?

Yet in all this babble about Rev. Slay, the most important question has been largely unasked: Why does Hoover High School have a team chaplain? Look, I went to a Catholic high school -- so of course our school pastor prayed with the team before games. But why does a public high school have scripture and prayer in the locker room??

Even our own Jewish community's Federation Update seemed to ignore this issue when they linked to a Birmingham News article about the Slay controversy on Sunday:

"Hoover High School is ranked the top high school football team in the country. Coach Rush Propst has developed a superior program which has garnered the suburban Birmingham school national attention. MTV is running a 'reality series' on the Hoover Buccaneers based on last season. The team chaplain and the fervent religious message he preaches linking football and God have become topics of controversy. In a front-page story Saturday, the Birmingham News reported, 'Under the hot glare of TV lights, Hoover High School football chaplain Terry Slay has stoked locker room emotions, as depicted in the weekly MTV show 'Two- A-Days,' and has taken some heat for his theological interpretation of gridiron life.'" AL.com link: "Bucs chaplain's MTV image lauded and lambasted"

In response to Update not mentioning the "team chaplain at a public school" issue, I just emailed this comment to the Federation:

"In Sunday's update, a link was provided to a "Birmingham News" story about the Hoover High School football team's chaplain, and the notoriety he's gained via the MTV program 'Two-A-Days.' The 'News' article mentions that team chaplain Terry Slay has garnered both criticism and praise for his depictions of football contests in theological terms, often referring to the opposing team as 'the enemy.' However, the more important question, ignored by both Update and the 'News,' is this: why does Hoover High School, a public school, have a team chaplain at all? And, why do they have such an obviously Christian chaplain, who quotes passages from the gospel of Luke as motivational messages? It is true that Rev. Slay is not paid by the Hoover school system -- he performs chaplaincy duties for the team as a volunteer. Still, paid or not, doesn't this seem to be an implicit endorsement of Christianity, and particularly of the Baptist variety, by Hoover High School?? (Slay is a youth pastor at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.) What about players on the team who don't subscribe to Slay's beliefs? What about the players who may be Protestant Christian, but of a different denomination? What about players who are Catholic, or Mormon, or Jewish, or who choose not to be religious at all? Is it fair to make them listen to Rev. Slay's exhortations about "thieves" and "enemies"? Is it fair to make them bow their heads in prayer before each game? Should they have to excuse themselves from the room, making their private beliefs (or lack thereof) known to all, causing a distraction and weakening the team unity that's so crucial in game like football? Remember, these kids didn't sign up for an after-school Bible Study club -- they signed up to play football. So, although I completely disagree with Rev. Slay's depiction of football in theological terms, and I don't believe for a moment that G-d cares who wins a high school football game, that's not the most important issue here. I wish that both the 'Birmingham News' and Federation Update had focused attention on the real issue -- Rev. Slay's mere presence in the locker room. He doesn't belong there.