“Oral Roberts University isn’t the feel good March Madness story we need.” That’s the lead of a USA Today opinion piece.
Wow. Not even hiding it anymore, huh?
As you probably know, Oral Roberts University came into the NCAA with a lowly 15 seed but then proceeded to beat No. 2 Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and then took out No. 7 seed Florida.
Most normal people cheered. But not Hemal Jhaveri of USA Today. She was offended that Oral Roberts even is allowed in the NCAA Tournament.
She calls out “the university’s deeply bigoted anti-LGBTQ+ polices can’t and shouldn’t be ignored.”
She calls it “not just a relic of the past, but wholly incompatible with the NCAA’s own stated values of equality and inclusion.”
She points out that “Twice in their student handbook, Oral Roberts specifically prohibits homosexuality.” Oh my. They actually state something that’s been a core belief for thousands of years!!!
The saddest part is that schools like Loyola University of Chicago don’t express the same belief.
“As a private university and under the banner of fundamentalist Christian beliefs, the school is free to impose whatever standards of behavior they see fit, even if those standards are wildly out of line with modern society and the basic values of human decency. Now, as Oral Roberts gains national attention, the focus shouldn’t just be on their very good men’s basketball team, but on their prejudiced teachings and moral regressiveness.
That Oral Roberts wants to keep its students tied to toxic notions of fundamentalism that fetishize chastity, abstinence and absurd hemlines is a larger cultural issue that can be debated. What is not up for debate however is their anti-LGBTQ+ stance, which is nothing short of discriminatory and should expressly be condemned by the NCAA.
The NCAA has always been more about paying lip service to ideals of equality and inclusion than action, but Oral Roberts inclusion in the men’s tournament proves how little they actually care about those words, which are emblazoned on their basketball courts.“
So they should be disallowed from playing in the NCAA tournament? Christians needn’t apply. This is where we’re heading. Sadly, most Christian and Catholic schools have already sold out to the gods of modernity for prestige, acceptance, and cash. The NCAA making secularization a requirement will just be more incentive. Pray for the few remaining faithful schools in the country.
