The Proselytizing of Ray Lewis

Now that Super Bowl XLVII is over, and one of the leagues controversial icons, Ray Lewis, is retiring, I have to vent a bit of frustration. Let me first begin by stating that I admire Ray Lewis, the football player. I admire his tenacity as a NFL champion, his longevity in the league, his decorated tenure in the league, and finally, his Super Bowl victory leaves an awesome legacy. Furthermore, his story of redemption and re-invention are powerful human experiences that are quite motivational. What an amazing motion picture that presents the drama of the human experience.

I have mixed emotions about the January 31, 2000 incident, and can only conclude that since the court of law did not prosecute him for the murders of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar it now resides with his conscience and his Maker to provide further judgment. My sympathy is with the Baker and Lollar families who lost love ones because of the blatant disregard and devaluing of life.  This incident speaks to the culture of violence that is prevalent throughout the U.S., in general, and Black-on-Black crime, specifically.  Furthermore, any criminal behavior associated with high profile celebrity athletes draw additional scrutiny because it displays either extreme arrogance and/or ignorance of their status role models; even if the try and plead the “Charles Barkley.”

In regards to the proselytizing of Ray Lewis, I have some difficulty with the implications of his religious pontificating, which is often done in sound bites.  For example, in an interview after winning the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, Ray Lewis asserts that, “No weapon form against him shall prosper.”  Furthermore, after the Ravens Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers, he asserts that, “if God be for me, who can be against me.” 

I assume it is clear to the reader that both of these are Bible verses frequently referenced in the charismatic religious movement to denote the favor of God upon their lives.  His first assertion can be found in the Book of Isaiah 57:17 and the latter can be found in Romans 8:31. Let me state, however, that if Ray Lewis’s use of these scriptures is within the context of his personal trials and life challenges, I have no argument. Furthermore, my argument is not with the favor of God upon His/Her creation and creatures, but when scriptures like these are misused in the context of sport and out of context of their original meaning, I have a problem.

As a sport sociologist who tries to understand sport as a social phenomena that informs cultural ideology, I inform students of the various connections sport has with other social institutions in the U.S.  Religion is one of those institutions where sport has a strong connection.  Whether it is the use of prayer in pre-game rituals, the presence of Chaplains on the staff of athletic departments or professional sport teams, or when athletes express their thanks to God or espouse their religious fervor after victories, the religion-sport connection is evident.

Well, to put it bluntly, I do not think God cares about who wins or loses within any given sport context. Or, I do not believe that God is on the side of the victor and S/he punishes their opponent with a loss.  What happens when both teams are praying for a victory, do we think God hears one team and ignores the other?  Did God favor the AFC over the NFC this year?  Is S/he more of a Ray Lewis fan than a Colin Kaepernick’s?

Ray Lewis proselytizing presents a God who takes sides, has favorites, rewards one with victory and punishes others with defeat.  NO! NO! NO!  The application of these scripture verses to explain victory, to illustrate how you are on God’s favorite team, or to situate sport and certain sporting events to have a higher spiritual meaning is problematic.  Despite the fact that we have displaced sports and athletes to an elevated status in this country, by way of media attention and multi-million dollar contracts, let us remain sober yet vigilant and critical to the improper and inappropriate evangelizing and the contradictory messages disseminated.  Sports should be enjoyed and both the winners and losers should be celebrated for the demonstration of their talents and physical abilities without attempts of evoking some higher meaning, higher cause, or higher being to the outcome.  Ultimately, it is just a game, and minus officiating errors, the winner is generally team that performed the best during that specific game.