FanHouse

A writer named Shannon J. Owens had an article in the Orlando Sentinel this weekend that is so stupid that it would be offensive if it weren't so easy to dismiss.

Under the headline, "NFL's Shaun Alexander Seemingly Pays Price for Having Interests Other Than Football," Owens suggests that the reason former Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is not currently under contract to an NFL team is that he's a devout Christian. Owens writes that Alexander's devotion to his church makes him "a pariah to some NFL general managers."

That is absurd. He's a pariah to NFL general managers because he's a bad player. He's averaged three and a half yards a carry the last two years, and he turns 31 before the season starts.

As Mike Sando of ESPN.com writes, Alexander was just as vocal about his Christian faith two years ago, when he got an $11.5 million signing bonus, as he is now. The difference between now and then is that he's not a good player anymore.

The majority of NFL owners, general managers, coaches and players are Christians. There is no anti-Christian bias in the NFL. There's an anti-bad player bias. If you're a bad football player, you can't get a job. That's Alexander's problem.