Posted on 04/22/2010 1:49:04 PM PDT by alleyesonCHRIST
NCAA - No Christians Allowed Anymore? As a huge sports fan I found it interesting over the weekend when I discovered that without so much as a whisper the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) sucker punched the First Amendment of the Constitution. Among the proposed rule changes rolled out by the NCAA for the upcoming year is a ban on messages that appear on eye-black. Eye-black is the gummy black tape like stuff that football players wear beneath their eyes to eliminate glare from light. It goes without saying that the most notorious player who adorned himself with eye-black was former all-world Florida Gator quarterback Tim Tebow who would always put a Bible scripture verse on his eye-black in hopes that he would - gasp - make a positive influence in someone's life. In fact in the 2009 National Title Game Tebow sported the infamous John 3:16 Bible Verse on his eye-black. The result, 90 million Google searches for the verse the next day. In fact, the University of Tennessee's starting quarterback this past year Jonathon Crompton was saved after getting interested in the Bible when he saw Tebow's eye-black. In a day and age when football players bellyache about having to be role models, Tim Tebow has embraced the roll. He used his eye-black as a way to promote a positive message. Congratulations to the NCAA for getting yet another rule change wrong and in the process of removing messages from eye-black, giving itself a black-eye.
What did that poor pig do to deserve that!
I guess they do, although it was suspended this year, the NCAA membership fees are between 900-1800 dollars depending on level. Something many schools make in an hours worth of concession stands.
Not a First Amendment issue.
The NCAA isn’t the government, they can abridge your freedom of speech on their fields during their games any time the want. Just like your boss.
The wedge block rule is just copying the NFL rule from last year. They decided wedges caused to many injuries. Oddly enough average return yardage increased.
The headline is so full of stupid that I can hardly wrap my head around it. This is a good policy for the NCAA. What are they going to do, sit there and say only Jesus messages are allowed? That is not going to work out.
Aren’t these the guys that covered the statue of the Sacred Heart because Obama did not want to appear with it on TV when he made a speech at BC?
If I am right, shame on BC, if I’m wrong I appologize to BC.
“Problem is what else might be posted on eyeblack. Yes, that stops another Tim Tebow from posting John 3:16 under his eyes. But it also stops “Allah Akbar”, “Praise Gaia” or other more inflamatory things as well.
The NCAA has opted for a blanket prohibition as opposed to trying to legislate what is acceptable or not. I can understand their position. Just sad that it has come to this is all.”
Exactly.
That would only get better if its name was Mohammed!
Screw them, they aren’t a fiefdom.
It’s a free speech issue, rs, so I don’t mind if they put alla akbar on their eyeblack.
To allow messages, and only to forbid religious messages is an equal opportunity issue.
They must ban ALL messages, to include NIKE, Tostidos, etc., or they are selectively permitting messages on some athletes but not on other. JMHO.
That’s asinine. Sponsors pay for their names to be on the uniforms. The player has no right to express himself on the NCAA’s field.
They’ve forbidden any private, personal expression. That’s a reasonable policy. The NFL doesn’t allow that either.
Just like Jim Robinson.
Actually - NO. I do not have a problem with any messages that are not obscene or vulgar. The problem is that EVERYONE knows that this is the Tebow rule. No other football player got so much attention as Tebow did.
You are assuming the NCAA is a private organization. Courts have ruled this both ways, but there is at least a straight faced argument that the NCAA is a quasi-governmental agency. They do receive public funds from the government and the vast majority of their revenue is derived from government sponsored entities...mainly....public institutions.
You lost me at quasi. Anytime you have to adjectivally qualify something as a quasi anything, then it really doesn’t meet the criteria on it’s own.
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