For NBA teams, religion can be unifying or divisive

[rug]

Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports
4:51 p.m. EDT May 3, 2014

Long before Doc Rivers found himself defending his Los Angeles Clippers players who were the unwelcome participants in team owner Donald Sterling's racist comments all week, he was concerned about another sensitive subject.

Religion.

It was late 1999, the start of Rivers' first season as coach of the Orlando Magic, and he saw a situation in the locker room that he felt needed to be addressed. As his players took part in the pre-game prayer that was part of their routine — with veteran point guard Darrell Armstrong handling the message like always, future New Orleans Pelicans coach Monty Williams serving as unofficial co-messenger and the entire team standing in a circle — Rivers noticed something he didn't like.

"I looked up in one of the prayers, and Tariq (Abdul-Wahad) had his arms folded, and you could see that he was really uncomfortable with it," Rivers, whose team hosts the Golden State Warriors tonight in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs, told USA TODAY Sports recently. "So the next game, we were standing up in a circle, and I said, 'Hey guys, we're no longer praying,' and I remember Darrell and Monty looking at me, like 'What's going on?'"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2014/05/03/nba-clippers-warriors-doc-rivers-mark-jackson-monty-williams-religion/8658755/

[cbayer]

1. I couldn't get through the whole thing, but I think the point was made pretty quickly.

There are ways to allow individuals and even groups to practice their religion without making others feel uncomfortable or like they have to participate.