Coach Called for Foul

The quote attributed to Randy Stem, basketball coach at The Master’s College, in your Feb. 9 article on the subject, was disturbing for its dual implications.

Stem is quoted as saying, “I’m looking for a 6-9 athlete who believes in God who can handle the ball. . . . I was looking at a kid who was a senior in high school, but it turned out he’s a Jew. I took him off my list.”

Since when don’t Jews believe in God? That sort of thinking should have disappeared once and for all when Southern Baptist leader Bailey Smith profusely apologized for having said that “God does not hear the prayer of a Jew.”

Equally disturbing is the continuation of Stem’s remarks: “But he has a teammate who is also a Jew, but he’s only a sophomore, so I kept him on my list. Who knows, I might convert him.”

Both aspects of Stem’s statement reflect an ignorance of and disdain for Judaism. Stem implies that a Jew can only be worthwhile, can only be a decent person, can only give glory to God if he or she becomes a Christian.

That is an insult to Judaism, to Christianity, and to that famous rabbi from Nazareth.

ROBERT M. SMITH

Assistant to the Director

Pacific Southwest Region

Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith