I don’t know if you are like me but sometimes it feels like the corruption just keeps coming – relentlessly. One of the results – brokenness in sports is everywhere. Every sport. Every level. This corruption and brokenness can eclipse my view of the redemption that is going on in sports.
However poor my perspective may be, the truth is God is raising up a new generation of athletes and coaches who believe Jesus Christ came not only to redeem people but also every realm the corruption of the Fall impacts – including sports. For this reason, I appreciate every glimpse I can get
of this redemption, where players move against the “win-at-all-costs” broken attitude of the day. Ryan Souders, former Charlotte Eagle and current soccer coach at Calvin College in Grand Rapids Michigan, sent me this article as a good reminder of that movement:
There was a remarkable moment of sportsmanship in Sunday’s German Bundesliga game between Werder Bremen and Nurnberg.
Bremen player Aaron Hunt went down in the box in the 75th minute. The referee immediately ruled that he’d been fouled by Nurnberg’s Javier Pinola, and awarded a penalty.
But it was clear that Hunt wasn’t touched. When he got up he went over to the ref and successfully convinced him to reverse the call.
Bremen still won 2-0.
Honesty!
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