The Rockies, Christianity and Intolerance

This is a fascinating article about the Colorado Rockies and the Christian influence in their ranks.  A couple of observations about the article are in order.

First, I think it is phenomenal that a professional team of any sort is willing to say they draft and hire with character in mind.  Whether they like to admit it or not, professional athletes are powerful role models in our culture and their lifestyles matter.  It also is a glimmer of hope for the value of virtue in a pragmatic and consequentialist world.  Granted, the Rockies’ management argued that character is turning into wins, and are thus still very pragmatic.  I said it was a glimmer.

Second, the amount of apologizing and back-peddling that seemed necessary in the article was stifling to me.  As soon as the Rockies were “outed” as Christians they needed to defend themselves against intolerance.  Prejudice against Christianity remains the only accepted bigotry in our culture.