Unexpected and a bit strange, but kinda neat. If true.

What doth the USC/Reggie Bush fiasco have to do with Catholic teaching? From the Bleacher Report:

Former LSU head basketball coach Dale Brown said in his 1994 biography, Tiger in a Lions Den, "I would change the NCAA. They legislate against human dignity...It definitely has to be revolutionized...the NCAA is too worried about double parking and jaywalking when they should be cracking down on murder and assault."

On Wednesday, I asked Brown his reaction to USC's bold move against Reggie Bush. Brown responded by quoting the words of Pope John Paul II:

Said Brown, "On 6-22-88 Pope John Paul II said, "Like all human beings, the value of sports need to be purified. Sometimes today, the temptations steer the sport away from its true goals. its honest ends, and those who really love sports should not put up with those deviations, which constitute a regression in the progress of man."

However, I cannot find the actual source; it doesn't appear to the general audience for June 22, 1988. John Paul II did talk about sports quite a bit (see here, for example), but I cannot find the quote above. However, Pope Benedict XVI, in his “Message for the 20th Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy: A Light for Sports,” (February 8, 2006), stated, "Sport is one of the human activities which is also waiting to be enlightened by God through Christ, so that the values it expresses may be purified and elevated at both the individual and the collective levels.” And it's also a bit strange that someone would say, in an interview setting, "On 6-22-88..." Unless, perhaps, the date was especially memorable.

By the way, as an Oregon Duck fan, I want to say that I'm vaguely aware that stealing, lying, drug use, and assault are also contrary to Catholic teaching...

Comments

[Brian J. Schuettler]

" I'm vaguely aware that stealing, lying, drug use, and assault (with deadly weapons)in addition to (fist fighting, eye gouging/head stomping) are NOT contrary to Catholic teaching..." in Manhattan at rush hour. CCC XXXXX "The Manhattan Exception"

[Randy]

You need to warn people against smut in that link. The Bleacher Report has good insights but I never go there because of that