At CNN, Tom Krattenmaker, author of the book Onward Christian Athletes, wrote that Jim Tressel’s fall “should make us rethink sports evangelization.”

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel resigned in May 2011 after a series of sordid revelations about the program that he led, often citing his Christian faith as inspiration. Read about Tressel’s resignation in a May 30, 2011, article from Espn.

Read an essay in the Oct. 10, 2011, edition of Christian Century magazine. Author Rodney Clapp writes about his ambivalence toward the sport – his love of the game, and his dislike of the violence and the “shady” elements of collegiate sports.

A dozen fans were injured in an on-field scrum after a Dec. 3, 2011, game between Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, an intense rivalry whose annual matchup is known as “Bedlam.” Read about the incident in a Dec. 4, 2011, article from the Associated Press, posted at USA Today.

Read a Jan. 15, 2012, essay in the The Chronicle of Higher Education by Mark Edmundson, a professor of English at the University of Virginia about whether or not sports build character.

Read a Jan. 27, 2012, story in The New York Times about efforts to defuse the deep religious divisions in Scotland that are played out in confrontations in the stands at soccer matches.

Read  a Jan. 27, 2012, “On Religion” column in The New York Times by Samuel G. Freedman about how cultural conflicts are reflected in sports.

The phenomenon of deadly sports rioting is in the news again after violence broke out at a soccer match in Egypt. A Feb. 3, 2012, column at The Daily Beast explores the reasons that sports rioting occurs.

Read an April 5 essay at the online Jewish magazine, The Tablet, titled “Like a Player.” The column, by Elli Fischer, explores the development of the relationship between sports and faith, with a particular emphasis on the Jewish perspective.