FFRF Accuses CU Buffs Football Coach Deion Sanders of ‘Religious Coercion,’ This Time for Locker Room Prayer

In the middle of his second season as Colorado University’s (CU) head football coach, Deion Sanders continues to receive complaints about how he navigates his faith and football. While the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has written another letter to CU leadership complaining of the Christian coach’s “religious coercion,” a religious liberty law firm contends his actions are “clearly legal.”

“God has always been my rock and my salvation,” Sanders said in a recent interview. “I’m going to glorify the Lord.”

FFRF Continues To Accuse CU Football Coach Deion Sanders of Forcing Christianity on Athletes

Under the direction of head football coach Deion Sanders, the CU Buffaloes have an incredible 6-2 winning record overall this year (and a 4-1 winning record in the Big 12 Conference). As CU brought Sanders on staff, the school and community have seen a tremendous increase in revenue.

As an openly Christian football coach, Sanders has received criticism about how he navigates his personal beliefs and his leadership of the football team.

In a letter dated Sept. 24, the FFRF complained to CU leadership of Sanders’ “continued unconstitutional religious coercion in football program.”

“It’s come to our attention that Coach Sanders has continued to entangle the University’s football program with religion and engage in religious exercises with students and staff,” the FFRF letter said.

The letter referenced an incident where “Coach Sanders once again made religious remarks and held a team prayer in the locker room after the September 22, 2024 game against Baylor.” Pastor Dewey Smith of Atlanta delivered the locker room prayer:

God, we thank you tonight for victory, thank you that you kept us relatively safe. Thank you that in spite of our imperfections you still blessed us, Lord. And thank you for being with us to the end. Lord, some people call it Hail Mary, some people call it karma, some people call it luck, but in my faith tradition, we call it Jesus. Grace, thank you for your mercy, bless us, help us to grow from this, learn from this, and take it to the next level. We give you praise, we thank you, in your name we pray, amen.

The FFRF further described Pastor Smith’s actions to be that of a “spiritual advisor” and “chaplain.” Smith “discussed the upcoming football season and team dynamics in a sermon-like manner, intertwining lessons from biblical scripture with his remarks about the team.”

The letter cited a variety of court rulings that “struck down school-sponsored proselytizing in public schools.” Further, it claimed that “players trying to please their coach surely will feel immense pressure to go along with Coach Sanders’ proselytizing and participate in religious activities, including prayers delivered by religious leaders invited by Coach Sanders.”

The FFRF requested that CU leadership ensure that Sanders “cease infusing the football program with Christianity” and provide documentation of Pastor Smith’s involvement with the team.

According to BeliefNet, Sanders continues to seek out legal counsel and receive great support from legal experts. The First Liberty Institute specializes in religious liberty and has defended Sanders’ behavior as “clearly legal.”

Constitutional Lawyer Keisha Russell said it’s well within Sanders’ rights to bring prayer into a locker room. She said in a statement, “FFRF’s letter is beyond inaccurate. There are multiple cases about chaplains being allowed in public institutions, and it’s clearly legal.”

While there have been no U.S. Supreme Court cases involving chaplains in a public university locker room setting, Russell believes Sanders’ situation is similar to that of former high school football coach, Joe Kennedy. The Bremerton High School football coach was fired for praying in the locker room and on the field. But after a seven-year legal battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Kennedy won the case against himself.

“If Sanders’ case were to go to the Supreme Court, I believe he would win, especially given the Court’s recent rulings on religious expression and students,” Russell said.