Enquiring tennis fans (may) want to know: Is the young U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff a “good” religious believer or some kind of “bad” conservative Christian whose beliefs should be avoided in the mainstream press?
I am getting to this story late, because I have been on the road for more than a week for pressing family reasons. However, it’s clear that Gauff is going to be one of the more inspiring sports figures of 2023, and in this case “inspiring” can have several valid meanings.
So let’s start with the obvious hot-button image from social media, as in that ESPN SportsCenter post on X containing a video clip that showed the new champion kneeling, with her head bowed and her hands against her forehead in a rather obvious symbolic position.
The ESPN tweet said (all together now): “@CocoGauff took a moment to soak it all in after winning her first Grand Slam title (heart emoji)”
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy — one of the most outspoken Black Christians in mainstream media — wasn’t amused by this faith-free language and responded on X. This, in turn, was picked up by “conservative” media, since religious faith is often viewed as a “conservative” thing. Here’s a major chunk of the New York Post coverage:
“I hate to break this to you SportsCenter but Coco Gauff was not ‘soaking it all in’ at this moment. She was praying. She has been very open about her Christian faith in the past. It seems pretty obvious what she is doing here,” Dungy wrote.
Gauff spoke about her faith after winning the first Grand Slam title of her career after she was asked what it meant to her to win the title on home soil.
“Oh my goodness. It means so much to me. I feel like I’m a little bit in shock in this moment,” Gauff said. “That French Open loss was a heartbreak for me. I realized God puts you through tribulations and trials. This makes this moment even more sweeter than I could imagine.
“I don’t pray for results. I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. Whatever happens, happens. I’m so blessed in this life. I’m just thankful for this moment. I don’t have any words for it, to be honest.”
Let’s stress the obvious journalism point, once again. Faith is not news simply because it is something that millions of believers like to talk about and read about (although newsroom leaders often write stories that they know will attract readers).
What matters in this particular stories (and many, many news stories of this kind) is whether faith plays a major role in the life and talents of Coco Gauff. When Gauff talks about her life and her “work,” does she include faith in that discussion? What about her family and others around her?
For reporters who like to ask questions, this leads to other logical topics: Does her family attend a specific church? How active are they? Does she have a personal pastor, perhaps even one who travels with her and her family from time to time (this is common in college and professional sports)? Are there specific causes that she supports with her time and her talents?
Did any news organizations follow up on the religion-news angle in this story?
The answer — this is becoming the norm — is “yes,” and “no.” Yes, conservative and religious media covered the faith angle, while elite press didn’t think the topic was worth ink (perhaps because the topic would not be welcomed by their paying customers).
Take, for example, the Deseret News, which is (altogether now) a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which means the newspaper is directly linked to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thus, “faith” angles matter in that newsroom.
That leads to headlines like this: “Is Coco Gauff religious? Coco Gauff talks faith after US Open win.” This report included the quotes from the post-tournament press conference, then added:
[The win] was far from the first time that Gauff, who identifies as Christian, has spoken about her faith after a big win. In early August, she credited God and her “church family” with helping her refocus after losing in the first round at Wimbledon and win a tournament in Washington, D.C.
“I want to thank my Father, God for this. After losing 1st round Wimbledon it was a tough situation. A lot of prayer, a lot of support from my church family. So thank you to him & those who support me,” she said on Aug. 6, according to The Tennis Letter.
Gauff, who is expected to be ranked No. 3 in the WTA when new rankings … has credited her parents with helping her build a faith-based support system. Last year, she told The New York Times that she prays with her dad, Corey, before her matches.
“Corey and his daughter pray together before every match — not for a win but for the continued good health of both players,” the Times reported.
The Gauff family’s faith was on full display Saturday in the moments after Coco Gauff claimed victory over Aryna Sabalenka. One of her loved ones can be heard saying, “Thank you, God. Thank you, God,” in the footage of the young tennis star celebrating with her team.
The Times reference is important and should be acknowledged. At the same time, this post-tournament piece by Times columnist Kurt Streeter sounded a more conventional Gray Lady theme. The headline: “How Coco Gauff Embodies the Biggest Story in Sports.”
What is that story? It is the rising power of female superstars in American culture, especially in — politics and social activism.
Remember the athletes — famous professionals and little-known amateurs in the United States and globally — and how they spoke out and led.
And remember that Donald Trump was president then, spewing barbs at them, particularly at Black athletes who raised their voices or protested by having the temerity to kneel, exercising their right of peaceful protest during the playing of the national anthem.
Yes, I would agree that people kneel for many reasons and I stressed that here at GetReligion and in my national “On Religion” column. I backed the kneeling athletes, as a First Amendment liberal on matters of symbolic speech.
In this case, Streeter added:
Who gets the most money, notice and hosannas in youth sports? By and large, boys.
Who runs most teams and controls most media that broadcast and write about the games? By and large, men.
Who runs the companies that provide the sponsorship money? Yeah, primarily men.
Change is coming. But change will take more time. Maybe a few generations more.
The decks remain stacked in favor of guys, but women continue their fight. When it comes to the games we play and love to watch, that’s the biggest story in sports right now.
That’s valid and interesting.
Now, maybe reporters can also ask some relevant faith-and-life questions to Coco and cover what she has to say? Readers may be interested in the results.
FIRST IMAGE: Screenshot of YouTube video promotion from the Smart Christians Life channel feature, “Too Woke Call it Prayer?”