Is athletes’ praise to god performative? It’s hard to tell.
What was the first thing Mendoza did before heading into the biggest game of his life? He knelt and said a prayer. Who did Sydney McLaughlin give credit to right after winning a gold medal for the 400-meter hurdles- God. I have no right to doubt these athletes’ strong relationship with God, but what does it mean when you get to the point of praising God more publicly than in private? I’m a catholic athlete and a firm believer in God, but also a firm believer in having a real relationship with your faith, not a relationship that only exists online for the public to see.
Elite athletes live along the line of this quote from Alex Morgan- “Keep working even when no one is watching.” My question is, do they keep praying when no one is watching?
A relationship with God isn’t unique to Mendoza and McLaughlin; many athletes share the same value. In a recent study, the NCAA found that 75% of its student-athletes identify with a Christian religion, while only 13% say they don’t associate with any religion at all.
The correlation between God and athletes has spread to all levels of the game, being dominant in college sports, but also heavily present in professional and high school athletics. You can find that many professional athletes have a bible verse in their Bio on apps such as Instagram. When the most well-known athletes, such as Steph Curry, have ‘Believer’ and ‘Philippians 4:13’, it should be no surprise that a majority of his fan base follow after him and put a verse in their Bio. But is it to look good to the media? Or to really find God in sports?
As technology advances, so does athletes’ ability to showcase themselves not just on a court, but through the phone. Performative trends have swept through the media from matcha to quarter zips to indie rock artists, and athletes are participating in their own trends, and one of them may be religion.
Similar to any other trends, if the 3 athletes in front of you in the press conference thanked god for the victory, you would feel pressured to say the same thing. The pressure of being religious in such an environment is real. For instance, the Ohio State football team of 2024 knelt and said a prayer before and after every game. Ohio State is a public university with no historic ties to Christianity, yet praying with your team seemed like a standard. If the most influential players on your team, such as CJ Stroud and Treveyon Henderson for the Buckeyes, are giving glory to god in front of you, you ought to do the same.
Whether you are truly religious or it is somewhat performative, it still looks better going up to the mic and thanking god.
Any athlete will tell you the sport they play takes a massive toll on their mental health, and that’s a big reason why so many of these players fall back on religion. They need something bigger to believe in. But I fear the true meaning of being religious has been lost in the effort to have the perfect athlete image. If you think about it, all of your favorite athletes are believers in God, so to be more like them, you act more like them- but is it only on the surface?
A great example of an athlete whose religion is not performative is former jewish baseball player, Sandy Koufax. American pitcher for the Dodgers in the 1960’s, Koufax refused to play on Saturdays due to Yom Kippur. This is a strong showing of true religion in athletics. Players like this represent their religion proudly and truthfully. However, not all athletes show commitment to their beliefs like Koufax.
Former professional football player Aaron Hernandez was convicted of murder in 2015. He had several tattoos on his body representing his belief in God, such as a ‘God Forgives’ tattoo on his arm and another saying “Jesus’ hands on the cross’ on his left arm. He had several of these marks of his faith; his fiancée states that he wasn’t someone who went to church and wasn’t necessarily religious. If you were not close to Hernandez like his fiancée, you would assume he was very religious with the various markings on his body, although it was clearly just for show. He was found dead in his jail cell after committing suicide with the bible verse John 3:16 written across his forehead. Growing up in Catholic schools, I can confidently say killing someone and ending your own life is a grave sin, and I am almost positive anyone who is truly religious would know this. Yet it is clear Hernandez was no follower of God; he just made his image look like that.
Yes, this is an extreme case, but it shows that religion can be performative in sports. If a killer can mask themself as being religious, it is easy for any average day athlete to do the same.
With so much media knowledge, it is truly impossible to tell who is genuinely committed to their beliefs in God. Believing in God is a strong thing that should only be publicly shown if it is accurately represented at home. Being a performative religious athlete only hurts the athletes and people who are true to the name of God. Just like Hernandez, harm is brought to religion when you falsely use it. Believe what you believe, but just make sure you practice what you preach.
