The decision by a top soccer team to withdraw LGBTQ rainbow jackets after a Muslim player protested has drawn criticism from a woke former player. Tim Howard, a New Jersey-born ex-goalkeeper for Manchester United, attacked his old team for deferring to current player Noussair Mazraoui, who said he would not wear an LGBTQ jacket, citing his Muslim faith. This prompted the team to abandon the jackets entirely so Maraoui would not be “isolated.”
“Any team, any organization should always do what is right. And if one player chooses not to take part, they are entitled to do that, Howard complains. However, he warns players opting out of doing “the right thing” will have “eyes on them.”
“Teams don’t have to protect players. Teams should focus on the greater good, not the beliefs of one individual,” he insists, declaring he “tend[s] to have a problem with any faith or any religion that doesn’t put human rights first.”
In common with many leftists, Howard goes on to suggest people have to agree with his social politics to be good Christians—despite Mazraoui being a Muslim—saying, “Jesus knelt beside beggars and sinners and thieves—people from all walks of life.”
While this is true, Jesus disapproved of sin—saving a woman accused of adultery from being stoned but instructing her to “sin no more,” for instance.
Multiple New Testament texts affirm that homosexuality is a sin, according to the Christian faith.