Former Rep. Allen West had blunt words for the Freedom From Religion Foundation during a speech to a Gladewater, Texas, crowd about the power of prayer, saying the atheist group was way off base in demanding University of Tennessee athletes stop praying before games – that worshipping the Almighty keeps players safe.
"One of the great traditions at University of Tennessee is that before every football game ... a local minister is called in to give a prayer before every game," West said, a video that just surfaced of last week's speech revealed.
He then decried how the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the university demanding officials "cease and desist" the formal prayer.
One of his points: Prayer actually helps keep players safe.
He recalled growing up playing football during a time when safety equipment was hardly a concern.
"And before every game," West said, "a pastor would come down and pray before that football game."
The result?
"I don't remember catastrophic injuries," he said. "I don't remember anyone getting carted off that field, paralyzed. You see there's something about the power of prayer. There's something about that freedom of religion. There's something about the Founding Fathers who prayed over this nation, who pledged their lives, fortunes, their sacred honor."