Arian Foster’s confession breaks new ground in US sport

IT takes incredible strength, courage and bravery to make it in the NFL as a running back. What this guy just did takes all of that and more.

JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 07: Arian Foster #23 of the Houston Texans celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on December 7, 2014 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

IT takes incredible strength, courage and bravery to make it in the NFL as a running back. Arian Foster of the Houston Texans has all of that and more.

During an interview with ESPN the Magazine Foster broke one of the biggest taboos in American life in general and US sport in particular when he confessed that he doesn’t believe in God.

Foster, who was raised a Muslim, talked with ESPN about discussing the issue with teammates.

“I get the devil-worship thing a lot. They’ll ask me, ‘You worship the devil?’” he said. “‘No, bro, I don’t believe there’s a God, why would I believe there’s a devil?’ There’s a lot of ignorance about nonbelief. I don’t mean a negative connotation of ignorance. I just mean a lack of understanding, a lack of knowledge, lack of exposure to people like me.

“I get the devil-worship thing a lot. They’ll ask me, ‘You worship the devil?’”

“If a loving, kind Christian, Muslim or Jewish person can’t accept a different vantage point, there’s just nothing I can do about it,” Foster says. “I have no ill will toward religion or religious people. I have no quarrels. Believe what you want to believe.”

The chairman of Openly Secular, Todd Stiefel, believes that Foster is the first professional athlete to openly admit he doesn’t believe in God.

“This is unprecedented,” Stiefel told ESPN. “He is the first active professional athlete, let alone star, to ever stand up in support of gaining respect for secular Americans.”

“You don’t want to ruin endorsements,” Foster said. “People might say, ‘I don’t want an atheist representing my team.’”

Foster believes there are other players like him, but they’re afraid to open up about their beliefs because of potential backlash.

“You don’t want to ruin endorsements,” Foster said. “People might say, ‘I don’t want an atheist representing my team.’”

Having broken the mould Foster encourages others to be themselves:

“Everybody always says the same thing: You have to have faith,” he says. “That’s my whole thing: Faith isn’t enough for me. For people who are struggling with that, they’re nervous about telling their families or afraid of the backlash … man, don’t be afraid to be you. I was, for years.”

Originally published as Arian Foster’s confession breaks new ground in US sport