Dozens of current and former NFL players and coaches are urging U.S. leaders to take action on what they describe as an escalating campaign of violence against Christians in Nigeria, signing a letter to Congress and the White House calling for concrete diplomatic, military and humanitarian measures.
The letter, dated Dec. 19, was addressed to President Trump and bipartisan congressional leadership and signed by players including C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans, Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers, Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons, Jameis Winston of the New York Giants, TreVeyon Henderson of the New England Patriots, along with Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy and dozens of retired players, spouses and team chaplains.
In the letter, the signatories framed the crisis as both a moral emergency and a matter of U.S. interest, arguing that years of violence had drawn too little international response.
“Religious and ethnic persecution in Nigeria has reached a level that demands immediate, concrete action from the United States,” they wrote. “We are grieved and outraged by the mounting violence, and we write to urge you to act now to confront religious persecution in Nigeria and ensure that those responsible are held to account.”
The group called on U.S. officials to condition military assistance and arms transfers on measurable improvements in civilian protection, impose sanctions on Nigerian officials and nonstate actors implicated in attacks and expand humanitarian aid for displaced civilians. They also urged Congress to require regular public reporting on religiously motivated violence and asked the administration to fill the long-vacant post of ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
Nigeria has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian. Human rights organizations estimate more than 52,000 Christians have been killed there since 2009, with more than 7,000 deaths reported this year alone. Thousands more have been kidnapped, more than 19,000 churches destroyed and millions of believers forced from their homes. Advocacy groups say Nigeria now accounts for more than 80 percent of Christian deaths worldwide.
Nigeria has been designated for more than a decade by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as a country of particular concern, a classification reserved for nations accused of systematic and egregious violations of religious liberty. Rights groups have repeatedly criticized Nigerian security forces for responding too slowly to attacks or failing to intervene, while investigations into major incidents have rarely resulted in prosecutions.
In their letter, the NFL signatories argued accountability must be central to any response.
“We ask you, as leaders of this nation, to use the full weight of your offices to defend the fundamental right to live and worship freely,” they wrote. “The lives at stake cannot wait.”
