Do the Rockies Discriminate Against Non-Religious Players?

If you scratch a Colorado Rocky, God almost inevitably pours out.

I don't mean that these guys are God-like, though my 12-year-old son seems to think so. There are just a lot of seriously religious people on the team.

For example, after back-up catcher Chris Iannetta hit a home run and won a big game for the Rockies last week, he offered this reflection to the Denver Post:

"If we're to learn from this situation, I learned just to have faith. Have faith in yourself. Have faith in God. And it will eventually pan out."

Nothing wrong with this, right? A lot of sports figures are religious and like to talk about God.

But there are legitimate questions hanging out there about whether the Rockies discriminate against players who are atheists or not religious.

That's a strong accusation, I realize, but did you know that the Rockies measure the "character" of potential players using a 14-point definition of "character," which the organization has developed specifically for player evaluations. The Rockies look for players who have skill, yes, but also who provide the correct answers to the Rockies own definition of "character."

This might not be anything to be concerned about, but information about the team's religious orientation that's wafted out of the Rockies' organization smells bad.

In 2006, USA Today published a shocking article arguing that the Rockies were "embracing a Christian-based code of conduct" and using "religious doctrine" as a "guide for running [the] organization."

USA Today quoted former Rocky Mark Sweeney: "They have a great group of guys over there, but I've never been in a clubhouse where Christianity is the main purpose. You wonder if some people are going along with it just to keep their jobs."

Then, in 2007, on the KHOW's Caplis and Silverman talk-radio show (Oct. 17), O'Dowd revealed his 14-point program for evaluating baseball players.

He said that a "byproduct" of his 14-point evaluation has been players with "faith, humility, accountability, trust, integrity, patience. There's been an incredible amount of byproduct to all those things which I think makes our organization, in my mind, right now special."

If faith is a "byproduct" of the Rockies' definition of good character, as O'Dowd said, might atheists be screened out? Gays?

How about other sinners as defined by various religions?

Sure, O'Dowd could have been referring to "faith" in a nonreligious sense, as in faith in your teammates. And for this reason, I didn't suggest directly that the 14-point character evaluation might be connected to religious discrimination when I wrote about this issue in the Rocky Mountain News in 2007, though I blogged about it.

But it's surprising that the issue has disappeared, particularly as the media swarm around the Rockies this week. I wonder about whether the team favors religious players every time I see another Rocky show his faith by crossing himself or pointing upward after a base hit.

The Rockies won't say whether faith in God is on its 14-point character evaluation because, ludicrously, O'Dowd has said the 14 points are "proprietary."

In other words, they think so highly of their own definition of character that they believe it gives them a competitive advantage over other baseball clubs. To me, this sounds like they're hiding something, and it also sounds awfully self-righteous, like the kind of holier-than-thou attitude you expect from someone who discriminates based on religious preference.

Still, the Rockies have said they do not favor Christian players and are tolerant of all faiths.

I hope so.

 

 

Comments

[ArthurTwoShedsJackson]

Well, I was once at a Rockies game, and Jeeesus appeared on the Jumbotron and said, "Take and drink, do this for the remembrance of...Coors Light, Golden, Colorado!"

[Fight4Freedom2008]

Leo Ernest Durocher..."Nice Guys Finish Last". Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories,

Before being suspended, however, Durocher played a noteworthy role in erasing baseball's color line. In the spring of 1947, he let it be known that he would not tolerate the dissent of those players on the team who opposed Jackie Robinson's joining the club, saying:

"I don't care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a f-uckin-g zebra. I'm the manager of this team and I say he plays."

http://www.amazon.com/Nice-Guys-Finish-Last-Durocher/dp/0226173887/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255276467&sr=8-1

[dftoad]

The Rockies have players from Latin America who probably practice a combination of the Catholic and Voodoo religions.

Todd Helton is probably a Baptist growing up as he did in Tennessee.

Tulo and Jason went to that beach worshipping Long Beach State.

I follow the team closely and I cannot recall it ever turning down a trade because of a players religion or lack there of.

Sorry, I do not see a pattern here.

[Vimbo]

Holy crap. I thought Jason Salzman might have been scraped away with the rubble of the Rocky Mountain News, although I assumed he was still infecting young minds at public expense in Planet Boulder.
[Although I find the religious grand standing of pro athletes offensive and rediculous [stet], as usual with businesses that exercise practices I do not agree with, I simply do not support them. ]
Absolutely correct, little lefty man. No more silly little Huffy for me. Go Rockies.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-salzman/do-the-rockies-discrimina_b_313864.html

[DinahMoeHum]

There's a story about Yogi Berra way back then when a batter from the opposing team stepped into the batter's box and made the sign of the cross on home plate with his bat.
While Yogi himself was Roman Catholic in faith, he was not amused by this gesture; in response, he supposedly pantomimed sweeping the plate with his glove and said to the batter, "Why don't we let God just watch this game?"

[WilliamL]

Considering the degree of religous fundamentalism that has centered out of the Springs, it seems strange that such would not be reflected in other aspects of the area including pro sport teams.

Although I find the religious grand standing of pro athletes offensive and rediculous, as usual with businesses that exercise practices I do not agree with, I simply do not support them.

At the end of the day, it is their team and can pretty much use any list they want to determine an employees level/degree of morals. Considering the thug and criminal mentalit of some of the employees of all of the sports businesses, suppose someone parading their religous piety is a lot less dangerous than those who train dogs to kill/kill dogs, carry loaded pistols and/or shoot themselves in the leg, and/or stay out drinking all night on the eve of a series game, fight with his wife, has the police called, shows up drunk to the game.............................................................................................

If you want to look at issues revolving charector flaws in professional athletes/sports business, there would be a number of other angles to consider than if the owners of a team want their players to reflect their own belief/moral system regardless if you agree or disagree with it. Expecting religous owners to employ atheists is interesting.

[MajorKong]

This must be why we're having so many natural disasters. God must be too busy helping people hit home runs.

[logan9]

and start wars!