Olympic Faith

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — NBA star Ruth Riley made the United States Women's Olympic Basketball Team by a prayer.

Though Riley is among the best-paid and highest-ranked players in the women's NBA, only a handful of the league's stand-outs make the Olympics. She wasn't among them, at first.

Originally listed as an alternate to the 2004 squad, Riley was brought onto the team July 22 to replace a player who was injured.

Riley was chosen for talent, skill and her 6-foot, 4-inch stature — all of which she attributes to the grace of God.

“My faith in God is my top priority, and it always has been,” says Riley, a 204-pound superstar who plays center for the Detroit Shock. “When your life is team sports, there are lots of ups and downs, both in the game and in your personal life. My faith provides consistency and strength through it all.”

Riley prays a lot — on the sidelines when she's off the court, between plays when she's on the court and with the rest of her team-mates before each game. She's a non-denominational Christian who received inspiration from Catholics while playing ball and studying at the University of Notre Dame.

Though many in Hollywood and American pop culture find religion a quirky thing at best, God seems to be at the center of top professional and amateur athletes’ lives in 2004. There are as few atheists in dugouts as there are in foxholes.

If modern Olympians are any indication, few in the world of high-profile sports pray secretly or apologize for Christian faith. Several coaches and team managers at the U.S. Olympic Headquarters in Colorado Springs told the Register that most Olympic athletes pray to God as a team before practices and competition.

Sports are a godly endeavor when approached in prayer and love, explained Pope John Paul II in comments he made in a message in June to honor the upcoming 25th World Day of Tourism on Sept. 27.

The message, titled Sport and Tourism, advocated harmonic, inclusive and constructive athleticism and came just as athletes were finalizing their preparations for the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Spreading Values

If Pope John Paul's statements weren't enough to establish his enthusiasm for athletics, the Pope, himself a former athlete, announced Aug. 2 the establishment of a Vatican sports department that he hopes will help spread Christian values around the world.

“The Holy Father has always been interested in sports, as a means of evangelization and a great way to form youth,” said Legion of Christ Father Kevin Lixey, an American priest involved in establishing the athletics department that will be a branch of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

In his youth in Poland, the future Pope served as a soccer goalkeeper and was an avid skier, kayaker and swimmer.

Sports should not be marred by “exacerbated commercialism, aggressive rivalry, violence to individuals and things even to the point of degradation of the environment or offense to the cultural identity of the host of the event,” the Pope said this year. Sport, he said, should be “accompanied by moderation and training in self-discipline.” It often requires a “good team spirit, a respectful attitude, appreciation of the qualities of others, honest sportsmanship and humility in recognizing one's own limitations.” The Pope called on Christians to view sporting activities as opportunities to develop the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

In a homily in 2000 for the Jubilee of World Sport, the Pope called for sport “that protects the weak and excludes no one, that frees young people from the snares of apathy and indifference and arouses a healthy sense of competition in them.” Sports that follow those guidelines, the Pope stressed, can emancipate the poor and build a more fraternal and united world that's free of intolerance.

“Amen,” says Eric Parthen, executive director of the United States Olympic Boxing Team.

“Our sport, at this level, is dominated by Hispanics, and the majority of them are Catholic,” said Parthen, a member of Holy Apostles Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. “Faith and prayer are huge in the lives of most boxers.”

He's not just saying that to please a Catholic audience. Hours before speaking to the Register Aug. 4, Parthen received his daily email assessment of the team's activities in Athens from Coach Basheer Abdullah. In his email, the prayer report plays more prominently than the sparring update.

“Workout and practice at 3 p.m. today,” Abdullah states. “They worked hard. Dinner at 6 and the athletes are laying it down early tonight. We had our daily prayer with Vicente Escobedo leading us. Yesterday, it was Andre Dirrell and the day before, it was Andre Ward. Everybody is asked to lead us at least one day. It is an awesome time for this team to give each other energy in the form of prayer.”

Parthen said the team prays together before every practice or competition. The prayers, he said, result in better strength, focus and agility.

“Our athletes ask for the Lord's blessing to keep them safe and to keep their opponents safe,” Parthen said. “They ask for safety in travel, and they ask for the safety of those fighting for our freedoms overseas.”

Not Violent

Parthen said he's inspired by the Pope's words about healthy and constructive athleticism. Boxing, he says, has done more than its fair share to include those who are otherwise excluded from social acceptance and material gain. Furthermore, Parthen says, his sport has freed young people from the snares of apathy and the evils of drugs, crime and violence that accompany it.

“Boxing is a sport that helps kids in the inner city to do something with their lives,” Parthen said. “There are countless stories of kids who were destined to lives of drugs and crime and violence who found something better in the sport of boxing and are doing something constructive with their lives because boxing elevated them to another level.”

As for the excessive commercialism the Pope warned about, Parthen says it may be advice professional boxing should heed. His boxing team, however, is among the few American Olympic teams that don't allow professionals to compete. He said the hype and commercialism surrounding professional boxing have kept professionals — such as scandal-ridden Mike Tyson — out of the Olympic ring during their professional years.

“The International Olympics Federation hasn't wanted to allow professional boxers to compete because of the disparity in the purity of amateur boxing as compared to professional boxing,” Parthen explained.

Though Parthen likes what the Holy Father said about athletics, the Pope warned against “violence to individuals” in sporting events. Boxing, in the view of critics, epitomizes violence. Parthen sees that charge as an unfair characterization. He defines “violence” in sports as disordered activity that's designed to harm another player, such as illegal maneuvers in hockey, football and all other contact sports.

“It depends on how you interpret violence,” Parthen said. “Our athletes are punching each other,” but not in a violent manner. “They punch in a sporting manner that involves rules and expectations. Out of the ring, these opponents are typically best friends, arm-in-arm. They play together and pray together.”

Wayne Laugesen writes from Boulder, Colorado.