Colorado’s Coach Deion Sanders Continues Sharing Faith with Team Despite Legal Pressure
Facing legal threats from the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders continues to share his faith with his football team. The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) has written twice to the University of Colorado, claiming that Sanders is violating the U.S. Constitution when he speaks about faith to his football team or invites ministers to do the same.
The group's latest letter asserts: "Using a coaching position to promote Christianity amounts to unconstitutional religious coercion." FFRF cites a prayer from Pastor E. Dewey Smith of the House of Hope Church, who referenced Jesus and prayed in front of the players, "Thank you that in spite of our imperfections, you still blessed us, Lord." In an earlier speech to the team, Smith quoted Scripture.
"Coach Sanders needs to understand that he was hired to coach football, not to force student-athletes to engage in his preferred religious practices," the FFRF letter said. "He must cease infusing the football program with Christianity. We request notification in writing of the actions the University is taking to ensure that Coach Sanders will cease proselytizing student athletes for good."
Sanders, though, has continued to boldly express his faith. This month, he invited legendary actor Denzel Washington to talk to the team about life. Washington -- who recently stepped into the ministry -- discussed his faith.
"We are in the world, but don't be of it," Washington told the players in an address via video. "Don't rely on it for your happiness. Rely on the Almighty. Do not rely on this world for your happiness. Because [they'll] tell you Tuesday that they love you and Wednesday that they hate you."
Washington also spoke of the redemption he found in God.
"God found me long before I knew I found Him," Washington said. "That's why they call it grace. The devil had me by the ankles. He said, 'I [can] get him, I [can] get him. God said, no, he's one of Mine."
Last fall, Sanders said he would not back down.
"I'm not going to be ashamed of the gospel. That's what my Bible tells me," Sanders said then. "And I'm going to proclaim my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ wherever I want to. Ain't nobody gonna tell me not to give love and respect to my Lord and Savior that has blessed me, has pulled me up from suicidal thoughts, and a multiplicity of things that you don't know."
Meanwhile, First Liberty Institute, a legal group that focuses on First Amendment cases, says Sanders is within his constitutional rights.
"FFRF fumbled the law," said First Liberty Institute senior counsel Keisha Russell. "The United States has a robust and widely recognized tradition of both public prayer and chaplain programs dating back to the Continental Congress in 1776. This rich precedent demonstrates that the University's program joins the long-standing American tradition that welcomes the participation of chaplains within a variety of America's public spaces -- or, as the case may be, even a locker room. Coach Sanders and the University of Colorado should ignore FFRF's hail Mary."
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/ Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images/Contributor
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published March 21, 2025.
