Popular constitutional scholar scorches athletic association for banning faith expression

A popular constitutional scholar and commentator is scorching one athletic association for banning a singular expression of faith.

Jonathan Turley, who has testified on the fine points of the Constitution before Congress and has represented members in constitutional disputes in court, was responding to a judo group banning a star for five months for making the sign of the cross.

“I fail to see how denying such gestures advances the game or its values. Part of these games is to respect our different values and cultures. While that justifiably means that the games do not officially endorse or demonstrate religious values, individual athletes should be able to acknowledge their faith in such small gestures. If we want to embrace the diversity of our world, the solution is not to bar expression of diverse values,” he wrote.

“It appears that faith may move mountains, but not the Olympics.”

He was reacting to the extreme action taken by the International Judo Federation to ban from competition Serbian judo champion Nemanja Majdov, 28.

He was found guilty by the bureaucrats in the sport of making the sign of the cross after a match at the recent Olympic games.

He, the regulatory body decided, had shown “a clear religious sign when entering the field of play.”

Majdov said, “in the defense letter of the disciplinary proceedings, I did not want to apologize… and of course, I did not, nor will I ever, although I did not even know what the punishment could be. The Lord has given me everything, both for me personally and for my career, and he is number 1 for me, and I am proud of that. And that will not change under any circumstances. Glory to Him, and thanks for everything. Nothing new for me personally, just a new page in my career and a new life experience. I’m sorry that such a beautiful and difficult sport like judo has fallen to such things. God gave me a great career, 7 European and three world medals. When I started, I dreamed of winning at least one big medal and thus succeeding in my life and the life of my family, who sacrificed everything for my career. He gave us a lot more and even borrowed too much so that I would bow my head in front of them when it came either-or.”

The federation claimed its rule banning any such signs was to make athletes “feel respected and accepted.”

“I am not sure how that tracks. Athletes expressing their faith does not condone other faiths or belittle competitors. It shows that their accomplishments are not their own. They may want to embrace their friends, their country, or their faith,” Turley noted.

He noted that the Olympic organizers themselves brought a wide range of “irreligious” images into the games, through their opening ceremonies and more.

Many Christian commentators were horrified by the Satanic images the games pushed on its audiences. Those events included a “drag show” version of the Last Supper.

The New York Post said, “Majdov’s show of faith came one day after the Paris Olympics faced intense backlash over its opening ceremony, which featured a drag show version of The Last Supper. The segment featured 17 performers — including three familiar ‘Drag Race France’ competitors — behind a long table, resembling Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting of Jesus Christ and his disciples sharing a final meal.”