Dear Baylor: How Can You Talk about Football at a Time Like This?

Last updated on: February 15, 2017 at 3:44 pm by Jonathan Aigner

Dear Baylor: How Can You Talk about Football at a Time Like This? 2017-02-15T15:44:19-05:00 Jonathan Aigner

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s getting increasingly difficult to leave my Baylor diploma hanging in my office. I’m proud of the work I did there, and I’m thankful for the fabulous professors who taught me lessons of music, confidence, and responsibility. But the recent revelations of the culture of violence, fostered by the football team and enabled by the administration, just keeps getting worse. The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday that a lawsuit has been filed, alleging 52 acts of rape committed by 31 football players between 2011-2014.

Frankly, I’m beyond ashamed and embarrassed. I’m angry. That these atrocities happened is beyond reprehensible. The fact they protected the abusers and allowed them to continue abusing is unconscionable. And I’m more angry at my alma mater with every new, darker revelation. It is only getting worse.

David Garland, Interim President, released a response yesterday.

I admire Dr. Garland a great deal, and I’m sure this response fulfills a legal necessity, but as a Baylor grad, I would appreciate a more thorough admission of guilt, apology to the victims, and a genuine sign of repentance. A culture of violence, especially sexual violence against women, belongs nowhere in our society, especially at a supposedly top-tier Christian university. And I think including updates on the future of our football program is premature, and in bad taste. In fact, an acknowledgement of the living hell these young women were subjected to deserves killing the whole football program off until Baylor can take full responsible for the full extent of its horrors.

Football is a violent game, and I hold the unpopular opinion that it should be banished from the face of the earth. It is a strange obsession in our culture, and a big business that lines pockets with the flesh and blood of young men. It mangles bodies, clouds the mind, and cuts lives short.

But there’s nothing I can do about it. The game goes on because our violent society demands it. Universities will continue to build their fame on the backs of young adult males, and will continue to tolerate poor scholarship and immature behavior. There’s apparently nothing we can really do about that, either. I would think it should go without saying that raping women cannot be one of those things.

After the allegations broke, I wrote these words in another post. I believe they are even more true today.

Why are we even continuing the football program at this point, Baylor? Why don’t we just shut the whole thing down. It’s an embarrassment. And let the McLane stadium complex stand empty, an awkward, embarrassing, painful reminder of how you compromised your identity as a faith-based institution. You played the part of the rich fool. You tore down your barn to build a bigger, $266 million barn. Let it sit there, and let all of us bow our heads in repentance every time we pass by.

Otherwise, don’t bother calling yourself top tier.

And while you’re at it, forget about the “Christian” part, too.

Photo: Flickr, creative commons 2.0

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 25, 2017

Jesus, Lover of Chris Tomlin's Soul

Next Post

January 30, 2017 Pondering the Future of Traditional Worship

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Church of St. YouTube congregational singing congregational song contemporary critiques corporate worship Hymn of the Week hymn singing hymnody and hymnology hymns masturbatory worship Uncategorized worship Worship Quotes

Select a Month February 2023 January 2023 October 2022 September 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 November 2019 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Pentateuch" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ten scrolls Wisdom literature Prophetic writings Five books