Air Force Football Players’ On-Field Prayers Called ‘Putrid,’ ‘Disgrace’

A group called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) says Air Force Academy football players must stop praying on the field.

Mikey Winstein raised the issue after seeing Falcons players kneel in prayer before Saturday’s game against San Diego State.

“It’s a putrid example of fundamentalist Christian supremacy, triumphalism and exceptionalism and it has to stop,” Winstein said in a statement.

Calling the prayers a “disgrace,” Winstein said players have complained anonymously to him that the prayers are not optional and that they fear reprisals if they speak out.

The MRFF says the public prayers by members of the U.S. military raise serious constitutional issues.

The group says it has received complaints from Air Force officers, who argued that the “optics” of Air Force players praying could be used for propaganda by ISIS.

The Air Force Academy said in a statement that it will conduct an “inquiry” into the situation.