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The misconception: Religion is notrequired to be a good, moral personImplicit in all these chaplaincies is the idea of “developing thetotal person, not just the total player” as Tuberville put it. 227Christian coaches like Tuberville and Bowden believe theyare accomplishing that goal by making good Christians: “wefeel like being a Christian and understanding the differencebetween right and wrong is a major avenue of success.” 228The idea that religion, and particularly Christianity, is requiredto be a complete or good human being is erroneous. Theidea itself is religious, so promoting it in a public universityis problematic, but it is also simply wrong. Religion is notrequired to be moral, productive, or happy—in fact, sometimesthe reverse is true. Modern social science shows that forvirtually every measure of societal success and well-being,the least religious states and countries score better. 229the ability to function in the real world. If coaches trulywant to help their players, and want to do so within theconfines of the Constitution, they ought to encourageuniversities to adopt the model policy laid out above andhire a development coach or counselor under that policy.The saddest aspect of this system is that the universitiesinvolved have failed their students. No student athletecould seriously be expected to jeopardize his scholarshipand education by challenging a coach’s unconstitutionalaction within the system or in court. Universities areallowing their students’ rights of conscience to be trampled.They have failed at protecting that which they exist tofoster—the freedom of thought. It’s time for a change.The physicist Steven Weinberg once famously observed,“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you wouldhave good people doing good things and evil people doingevil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takesreligion.” 230 Weinberg’s point is that religion just as frequentlyprovides a divine license for immorality as a mandate formoral actions. History proves his point. In this country alone,Christianity has provided the divine sanction for slavery,racial discrimination, and discrimination based on sexualorientation. Given the conservative evangelical bent of manychaplains, it would be unsurprising to discover that theyhave preached the latter at chapel services or bible studies.Whether a chaplain is selected by the FCA or by a coach, theirChristianity is no guarantee that they are a role model or havegood character. Kent Bowles was an FCA representative forover 22 years, including his position as the chaplain for theUniversity of Oklahoma’s football team. Last October, Bowleswas arrested for stealing prescription pills after he tricked a maninto leaving him alone in his house under the guise of an FCAfundraiser. 231 University of Cincinnati coach Tommy Tubervillehired Antrione Archer as team chaplain and, so he coulddraw a university salary, as director of player development.Last May, Archer, who instructed players on appropriate“sexual conduct” 232 in his role as chaplain, was later jailed forsexually assaulting a 73-year-old grocery store employee. 233There is no doubt that coaches have enormous influenceon their players’ lives. That influence can be eitherpositive or negative. This level of control, sports writerRick Telender observed, often leads coaches to turnplayers “into young men with warped perspectiveson obedience, morality and competition … unable tofunction appropriately in the real world . . . until theylearn new methods of behavior and thought.” 234Religion is no guarantee of moral behavior, happiness, or24 Pray to Play Freedom From Religion Foundation