I have gotten out of the habit of watching the television sports channels, but was giving the remote a work-out the other day and stopped in the midst of a discussion about the religious faith of prominent athletes. What caught my ear was a statement one of the talking heads mad ... “Two of the most religious athletes you will find anywhere are the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus.”

He went on to say that former football star and current baseball minor league player Tim Tebow is well known for his religious faith. He noted that Tebow goes out of his way to share his beliefs with anyone who will listen. “His approach isn’t always appreciated by the some members of the general public who would rather such issues weren’t openly discussed. There are many athletes for whom religious faith is very important but go about practicing it in a more quiet way.”

The man’s comments gave me reason to pause a moment. First of all, I didn’t know about the Williams’ sister’s religious faith. Secondly, I wondered who some of the other religious athletes might be.

What I learned about the Williams sisters are that they are devout Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is surprising in a way because that religious group discourages its members from participating in sports at a professional level. One thing that the Williams’ refrain from doing because of their religion is voting in elections. They refrain because they are taught to be neutral in political matters. In some ways that is refreshing in these very partisan days. The sisters were home schooled by their very devout mother. I remember that there were Jehovah’s Witnesses in my sixth grade class back in Kansas and they were allowed to not participate in the daily pledge of allegiance to the American flag. They were just as patriotic as anyone else, but we were told their faith teaches that things such as flags could become graven images.

In thinking about religious athletes, I thought back to 1965 when future Hall-of-Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax refused to pitch in Game 1 of the World Series because the game fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar. The Dodgers pitched Don Drysdale instead and the Minnesota Twins hammered Drysdale. Drysdale reportedly quipped that Manager Walt Alton probably wished that he (Drysdale) had been Jewish so that he wasn’t available to pitch either.

I remember there were those who denounced Koufax’s refusal to play saying that his decision was a selfish one because it put his teammates’ chances of earning the World Series winners’ share in jeopardy. But I remember the discussion I had with my Dad about the subject. Dad was a rockribbed Dodger fan and he was a devout Christian. But he said that we all should be proud of Koufax because he stood up for his faith. Then Dad, as he was prone to do, shared with me a little history. He recalled that in 1934 another Jewish baseball player, future Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg, also refused to play on Yom Kippur. Greenberg’s decision had a potential impact on the American League pennant race that year. But his team, the Detroit Tigers, went on to win the pennant anyway.

Koufax pitched in Game 2 in the 1965 Series, but lost, and the Twins led the Series 2 games to none. The rumbling got more pronounced as it looked like the Dodgers might lose the whole thing. Koufax pitched in Game 5 and was the winner and was brought back to pitch Game 7 and was the winner and was named the Series MVP.

I also remember in1954 when Al Rosen, also Jewish, said he would not play on Yom Kippur, which would have fallen on the day of Game 5 in the Series against the New York Giants. The Giants swept the first four games and Game 5 was unnecessary, making Rosen’s commitment moot.

In reading about Koufax’s decision not to play, I learned of Milwaukee Brewers’ backup catcher Jesse Levis, who was inserted in a 1996 World Series game as a pinch hitter against Baltimore on Yom Kippur. Seeking forgiveness for

Seeking forgiveness for his decision to play Levis said “It’s not like I’m Sandy Koufax. I don’t have that kind of leverage. I hope God forgives me.”

Another high profile athlete who persisted with his religious beliefs despite facing potential imprisonment was boxer Muhammad Ali. Ali at one time was Cassius Clay, but converted to Islam in the early 1960s and changed his name. In 1966, he refused to be drafted into the military claiming he was a conscientious objector because of being a Muslim. He was arrested and convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his heavyweight champion title. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, but in the meantime he had lost four years out of his career in the midst of his prime. He continued to be a devout practitioner of Islam the remainder of his life.

Another prominent athlete who converted to Islam was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had been known as Lew Alcindor as an All-American basketball player at UCLA. And yet another is Hakeem Olajuwon who moved with his family to Jordan after his retirement to study the Muslim faith. Other practicing Muslims include Mike Tyson and Shaquille O’Neal. Tyson converted to his faith while in prison.

And of course, Tebow heads a list of prominent athletes who are Christian

Mariano Rivera, the retired New York Yankees pitcher, played with his glove inscribed with Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Rivera has established a church in New Rochelle N. Y., where his wife, Clara, preaches.

Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw is a devout United Methodist. Along with his wife, Ellen, he wrote a book “Arise, Live Out Your Faith and Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself.” He has done a lot of charity work including helping to build an orphanage in Zambia.

NBA great Dwayne Wade is a devout Christian who chose to wear No. 3 because of the Holy Trinity. His mother is an ordained Baptist minister and Wade bought a church for her to pastor.

Former New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza is a devout Roman Catholic and appeared in “Champions of Faith” a documentary on the intersection of religious faith and sports. Piazza has been quoted as saying “I believe my professional career has been a blessing from God.”

Peyton Manning noted in his autobiography that he became a Christian at Age 13 and while he doesn’t publicly discuss his faith he has said that doesn’t make him any less of a Christian than those who are more publicly demonstrative.

Steve Young, an NFL Hall of Famer and former San Francisco 49er quarterback is a Mormon and is the great-great-grandson of Mormon founder Brigham Young.

He has been quick to express his faith to those who would listen.

Deion Sanders has said that he turned to God after he found that wealth and fame didn’t bring him happiness. Today he mentors young folks in the Boys and Girls Club of America and says that his conversion was a “Complete and total transformation that began to work inside of me.” Two others that I was

Two others that I was surprised to learn had embraced Christianity were Bo Belinsky and Dean Chance.

They were high profile pitchers for the Los Angeles Angels back in the 1960s who had reputations as being party animals during their pitching days. Belinsky pretty much wasted his talent by running around. His name was linked to such movie celebrities as Connie Stevens, Mamie Van Doren, Ann-Margret and Tina Louise. Belinsky started his career by winning his first four games with the Angels, one of which was a no-hitter. But his career went downhill as his partying went uphill and his career ended in 1972 with a 28-51 winloss record. He was treated for alcoholism and became a Christian while working for an auto agency in Las Vegas. Chance had a better record as a pitcher, and was the recipient of a Cy Young Award once. But he was a close friend of Belinsky and the two did a lot of partying together. Like Belinsky, he was converted to Christianity after his retirement. Belinsky made this state

Belinsky made this statement in Maury Allen’s biography “Bo: Pitching and Wooing”--

“I came to the Angels as a kid who thought he had been pushed around by life, by minor league baseball. I was selfish and immature in a lot of ways and I tried to cover that up. I went from a major league ballplayer to hanging onto a brown bag under the bridge, but I had my moments and I have my memories. If I had the attitude about life then that I have now, I’d have done a lot of things differently.”

This just skims the surface of athletes for whom their faith is an important element. There are many, many more in all kinds of religions who have tried to live by their beliefs.