Sportscasters Having Spiritual Impact

From New Man magazine:

SPORTS

Prime-Time Faith

Christian sports broadcasters are making a difference in a world that often promotes values contrary to the Bible.

It's hard to say when things changed, but sometime around the Howard Cosell era, sports broadcasters emerged from behind the microphone and into the hearts of sports fans as full-fledged celebrities.

So it shouldn't be a big surprise to learn that sports broadcasters are now facing many of the same temptations as the athletes that they cover. Spencer Tillman has experienced those challenges from multiple angles. As a CBS college-football analyst and former star athlete with the Oklahoma Sooners and Houston Oilers, he is fully aware of the pitfalls of fame.

"Temptation is always going to be out there because people are drawn to some sense of celebrity," Tillman says. "The key is to start off knowing that is the case. When you understand the nature of the business and the nature of people, then you can guard against those things."

For Ernie Johnson, it took some hard lessons as an unsaved journalist before he finally found Christ in 1997. As the popular studio host for Turner Broadcasting's NBA coverage, he too can easily pinpoint the primary culprit that aims to tear down the character of Christian sports broadcasters.

"There are a lot of land mines out there in broadcasting, chiefly to me the recognition and praise and criticism that comes your way," Johnson says. "I really struggled for a long time, and still do from time to time, with pride and arrogance and concern over what viewers and critics think of me. I remind myself that if anybody's going to get any glory out of this thing it's God."

According to TBS college-football announcer Ron Thulin, he first advises new talent to be vigilant while on the road through personal prayer, and devotion time and accountability.

"Traveling affords you many opportunities to fall," Thulin says. "There's a lot of downtime. You're in hotel rooms alone. Females do recognize you. They do come up and want to talk. ... When you're on the road, you have to really be aware that the devil is going to attack you."

Former ESPN and FOX broadcaster Eric Clemons (currently serving as the sports anchor at FOX affiliate WVUE in New Orleans) says Christian reporters need to take a stand for what they believe in, even if it costs them personally.

"There are certain political games that are played that defy truth," Clemons says. "If a higher up at a network tells me something and it opposes my truth, then I'm going to let him know that. ... I truly believe that's why I haven't been a long-standing person at that [national] level."

Christian sports broadcasters are also faced with an onslaught of negative stories that are constantly filling up the airwaves.

"The one thing that really bugs me is how fatherhood is celebrated when the athlete isn't married," Johnson says. "I'm not going to get on my soapbox and debate the point. That's not why I'm there. ... But you will not hear me joining the backslapping and high-fiving for an out-of-wedlock birth. That's not the message I want to send."

Golf Channel reporter Brian Anderson says that it's a natural tendency to dig out the dirt, but feels it is his responsibility as a Christian to dig even deeper for the positives.

"The problem is that we want to know too much about the athletes, especially the troubled ones," Anderson says. "Positive, encouraging, newsworthy stories do exist."

Along with the opportunity to reach into millions of households is the opportunity to be an influence on the many people that work behind the scenes, the people who rarely receive due credit.

"I think I have a responsibility to reflect God," Thulin says. "It's so easy to get caught up in the game. You've got so many things hitting you at once. You have meetings for 14 hours and tapes to watch. But you forget there are 40 other people making me look good. I've always made it a point to treat those people with respect. ... I try to make sure they know that they can come to me when they're going through a tough time. They know that I care."