NBA Coach Rips Christians Who Voted Trump: "What Bible are They Reading?"

Detroit Pistons Coach Owes Christians an Apology

(photo: Photo credit: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Much of the media is reporting that NBA Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy went on an anti-Trump rant. And that's fine. If you want to talk politics, have at it. It seems to me that the NFL shows you that mixing politics with sports isn't smart but do what you want. But Van Gundy went one step further. He didn't just attack Trump. He attacked Trump voters, in particular, Christians who voted for Trump.

This is particularly nasty and over the line in that he didn't just take part in some liberal virtue signaling but actively attacked Christians in a vicious way.

Van Gundy said:

“And then you read how he (Trump) was embraced by conservative Christians. Evangelical Christians. I’m not a religious guy, but what the hell Bible are they reading? I’m dead serious. What Bible are you reading? And you’re supposed to be — it’s different. There are a lot of different groups we can be upset at. But you’re Christians. You’re supposed to be — at least you pride yourself on being the moral compass of our society. And you said, ‘Yeah, the guy can talk about women like that. I’m fine with that.’ He can disparage every ethnic group, and I’m fine with that. “Look, I don’t get it. And I’m having a hard time taking it.
I’m just glad that the people I’m with here — and I’ll include you guys, too — that I like. Because I’m going to have a hard time. I will say, one point of pride, I live in Oakland County, Michigan, and I was surprised, but Oakland County voted for Clinton. At least I can look around say, ‘We weren’t the ones putting that guy in office.'

You've got to love it when someone who's not a religious person asks actual religious people "What the hell Bible are you reading?"

Let's be clear, many many Christians do not approve of much of what Donald Trump said or did in the past or even during the campaign. A vote for a candidate is not a complete endorsement of everything that person has said or done. Many Christians struggled with their decision, some not deciding until they walked in to the voting booth. Voting for Trump was not an imprimatur of every action and word that has passed from that man's lips. For many Christians it was a vote for a deeply flawed candidate who vowed to preserve religious liberty and establish some level of protection for the unborn.

If Van Gundy has a problem with Trump, join the club. I have an odd mixture of joy and dread at his election. But attacking Christians for voting is another thing altogether.

Ironically, Van Gundy also said, "I’m having a hard time being with people. I’m going to walk into this arena tonight and realize that -- especially in this state -- most of these people voted for the guy. Like, (expletive), I don’t have any respect for that. I don’t."

So let's be clear, Stan Van Gundy just said he doesn't like or respect people who aren't like him. And he's blasting Trump for not respecting people who aren't like him? I'm thinking he's not seeing the irony here.

Stan Van Gundy should apologize, not to Donald Trump, but to Christians for questioning their faith and for villifying those who don't think like him.

 

(HT Detroit Free Press)