Ted Ginn Jr. has put together a nice NFL career. His father, Ted Ginn Sr., has led a remarkable life as one of the most iconic high school football coaches in the nation.
The elder Ginn has served as the head football coach at Cleveland Glenville for more than 40 years. An unabashed Christian, Ginn Sr. is also a prominent supporter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the faith-based sports club that promotes prayer alongside performance. As reported by Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW, every summer Ginn Sr. hosts an FCA football camp which traditionally has widespread attendance.
While there’s a distinctly Christian angle to the camp, there’s nothing illegal about it because it takes place outside of official school hours, outside of direct school support and without penalty for any student athletes who choose against attending. Still, it can’t be understated how strong the Christian influence is on the camp because it literally concludes with athletes being baptized at a local church.
Yes, Ted Ginn Sr. is helping baptize teenagers at a local baptist church. In 2019. What a time to be alive.
Regardless of one’s feelings about Christianity, or organized religion in general, there are some universally positive things about Ginn’s camp. It’s always valuable for teenagers to be forced to recognize the importance of perspective, and just how small a part of life football plays in it. Whether being baptized into a church is an appropriate means through which that message is delivered is up to those who give and receive it.
For Ginn Sr. and the student athletes at his camp, both those from Glenville and elsewhere, the lasting impact of the weeklong journey is real, as evidenced by one 15-year-old who took part.
“So I can clear my sins and continue going to church and do good and be good,” Ar’Mon Jointer told WJW.
