When Faith Collides With The Business Of Sports, Conviction Becomes The Real Test
If you’re a sports fan—and even if you’re not—you may have heard that NBA player Jaden Ivey was waived from the Chicago Bulls for “conduct detrimental to the team” after he cited his Christian faith in public comments that were critical of Pride Month.
That got me to thinking about sports and culture today. Even at the lowest, youngest levels, it seems that sports are no longer just games that are fun to play.
When my daughter was in high school, I began to understand what it really takes to compete at a higher level, to win the scholarships and sponsorships, to catch the eye of scouts. Club sports don’t pause for Sundays, holidays, or convenience. They demand everything.
There were all-night drives to get her to games, hotel rooms on Easter, long weekends on the road, and more sacrifices than most people ever see. If you’ve lived in the world of club sports, you understand.
Through it all, one truth anchored her.
Through Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), she learned that she was more than her sport. It was not her identity, but a gift—a platform God could use for something greater.
That perspective matters because sports shape people. They build discipline, resilience, teamwork, and the ability to perform under pressure. As a business owner and former collegiate athlete, I’ve seen firsthand how those traits translate far beyond the game.
But something has shifted.
Sports today are not what they once were. Club sports dominate youth development. College athletes are now being paid and have a transfer portal. Professional leagues have become global brands shaped by media, sponsorships, and corporate influence at a level most people never fully see.
What used to be about the love of the game is now deeply connected to money, messaging, and influence.
The business of sports is massive. According to Forbes, NBA sponsorship revenue has more than doubled over the past decade—from roughly $700 million to over $1.6 billion. That kind of growth doesn’t just change the business of sports, it changes what drives decisions inside it. Leagues are no longer simply organizing games.
They are managing brands, partnerships, and public perception on a global scale.
And while there is no public breakdown of how much of that revenue is tied to specific cultural initiatives, the NBA has been clear about its alignment with campaigns like Pride Month and partnerships with organizations such as GLAAD. In a system where billions of dollars are driven by brand alignment, messaging and money are closely connected.
Which brings me back to the recent situation involving Jaden Ivey.
Agreement with everything he said is not the issue. What stands out is how quickly the boundary becomes clear when it is challenged.
When institutions grow powerful enough to influence not just behavior, but belief, we are no longer talking about sports, we are talking about culture. And culture is always shaping people.
There are many causes sports organizations could—and do—champion that bring people together rather than divide them. Yet increasingly, we see a pattern where individuals are expected to align publicly or remain silent privately about issues that violate their beliefs and values if they want to continue to participate at the highest levels.
That is not inclusion. That is coercion dressed up as progress.
That tension is real.
And it is not limited to sports.
In my book The Best Robot Wins, I talk about the danger of suppressing the human spirit. Great leadership does not turn people into machines—it helps them flourish. When people are engaged, empowered, and aligned with purpose, they do extraordinary things.
The same is true for athletes.
They are not robots. They are individuals with identity, conviction, and purpose. Their talent is a gift, but it is not who they are. Their platform is an opportunity, but it should never define them.
FCA taught my daughter that her gifts could be used for something greater than the game itself. That lesson stayed with her.
My daughter did not go on to play at the collegiate level, but she gained something lasting: identity in Christ, along with discipline, commitment, teamwork, and the ability to perform under pressure.
Those lessons matter.
But so does this one.
When we watch powerful sports institutions shape culture through their platforms, we should pay attention.
We should ask what is driving the message, who benefits from it, and which values are being elevated in the process.
When institutions with the deepest pockets attempt to erode a Christian worldview one action at a time, believers must have the courage to see it for what it is—and the wisdom to decide where and when they will stand.
This is about more than sports. It’s about who gets to speak, what gets celebrated, and what gets silenced.
And when conviction becomes a liability in a system driven by money and influence, that should tell us everything we need to know.
Perhaps the real question isn’t about the game at all.
It’s whether we have the courage to stand when the game changes.
