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Is It a Sin for Athletes to Deceive the Other Team?

When it comes to deception and lying, is there a biblical exception for sports or entertainment?

Brian Tubbs
5 min readMay 15, 2023
A cartoon caricature of a tricky basketball player — generated via MidJourney

You’re watching a basketball game and your favorite basketball player fakes going to the right, only to dash to the left — and shoot the game-winning score!

You cheer! You’re happy! You’re delighted. And then…

You remember…

Wait! I’m a Christian and the Bible says we’re not supposed to lie or be deceptive. So…

That player shouldn’t have faked to the right. If he signals he’s going to run to the right, he should have gone to the right. To do otherwise is to deceive the other players on the court.

And that’s wrong.

Right?

Well, the Bible says it’s wrong to lie and to deceive.

And the Bible says it… that settles it!

Right?

I recently encountered a Christian online who basically took this very position. And when I pushed back a little bit, she demanded to see Bible verses to justify my position.

I could only scratch my head in puzzlement and frustration.

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Brian Tubbs
Brian Tubbs

Written by Brian Tubbs

Sharing thoughts and insights about faith, history, and personal growth. Hoping to inspire more faith, hope, and love in a world that needs it.

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