Why We Should Celebrate Travis Hunter’s Baptism: A Response to Skip Bayless
Skip Bayless is going viral for another hot take, even though this one takes the length of a sermon for listeners to get through. In an online video posted to X on October 16, Bayless argues that Travis Hunter’s baptism, which took place the morning of a game, is evidence that he is not fully dedicated to the game of football. A professing Christian himself, Bayless’ video has already amassed over 3 million views and continues to spread in the digital space.
Skip’s “sermon” includes three important points worth further examination:
Travis Hunter should not have gotten baptized the morning of game because:
It shows he is not fully dedicated to the game of football (because baptism is emotionally draining)
Baptism should be a day long celebration, not a dunk and run event.
Travis Hunter should use the gifts God gave him—and the platform he has—to influence people by how he carries himself on the field.
If Travis Hunter really wants to be great, he would be wise to not put faith before football.
Even though Bayless speaks as one who has pastoral wisdom in this circumstance, I’d like to look at what he said against the backdrop of how the Bible presents baptism and worship.
Disclaimer: I don’t know Skip. I know that most of what he says is intended to stir up a debate and for that, I am grateful for his willingness to “go there.” It’s not often that analysts spend time talking about integrating faith and sports, let alone giving it thirty minutes. So, while I disagree with some of what he said, I’m grateful we’re talking about athletes getting baptized and what it looks like to live faithfully in moments like this.
What is Baptism?
Before we center an entire response around baptism, it would be helpful to define what we’re talking about.
The Bible Project Team describes baptism in the Bible as an expression of an identification with Christ’s death and resurrection—the old self was crucified with Christ (through the waters of death), and now followers of Jesus have risen with him in “newness of life” (Romans 6:3-11).
It’s an external expression of an inward reality—done in obedience to God’s command. It’s not what saves you, but it's an action done to show your community that you have been saved by grace through faith.
Bayless argues that Travis Hunter should not have gotten baptized the morning of game
“There was no way why Travis Hunter should've chosen to be baptized on the morning of a 1 o'clock game.”
It’s important to note that Bayless’ main issue with Hunter’s baptism seems to be the timing of it. He is not saying that Hunter should not get baptized. There are two assumptions Bayless is making here—and we’ll take them one at a time.
Assumption One: Bayless believes Hunter’s early morning baptism on the day of a 1pm game shows he is not fully dedicated to football.
“He could’ve waited until the bye week to have a special day of days that could last for 12 hours at the church. You could do day and night. You could make the day what it was supposed to be.”
For starters, if Travis Hunter has made a decision to surrender his life to Jesus and make that declaration public through baptism, his relationship with football should absolutely change. That’s part of surrendering to Jesus as savior (He died for our sins to make us righteous in God’s sight) and Lord (We commit to live obedient to what He says).
As Paul says “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Surely Bayless knows this and would agree with it. The bigger assumption he seems to make is that having a significant spiritual experience several hours before a game will deplete him physically, hindering his athletic performance.
If that’s what Bayless believes, I disagree.
Anyone who has been set free from a burden and/or knows what it feels like to fully be obedient to God in a moment, has experienced the joy, energy, joy, and momentum that comes from it. This is not “Angels in the Outfield” where God becomes our performance enhancer, but it’s a good feeling in the soul where we feel more fully known, fully loved, and we’re moving in the right direction. That produces momentum, not draining.
The assumption that most people make—especially those who have not played sports at a high level—is that having your identity grounded in something beyond sport, will hinder your performance. They think it’s a distraction or a waste of energy and focus. But in most cases, it has the opposite effect. Having an identity grounded in something stable (like God) actually elevates your performance in sport. Why? Steve Magness, a sports psychologist and former athlete, points out that you don’t need to be fully obsessed with something to become great at it.
The idea that athletes perform better when they are playing FROM identity instead of FOR identity is backed not only by modern research, but grounded in biblical hope.
Christian athletes don’t have to play for love, they already have it in Christ (Romans 8:38,39; Eph. 2:4-5).
Christian athletes don’t have to play to find contentment, they already have it in Christ (Philippians 4:10-13).
Christian athletes don’t have to play to get peace, they already have it in Christ (Romans 5:1).
Christian athletes don’t have to play to get hope (Psalm 62:5), acceptance (Romans 15:7), or strength (Psalm 28:7), they already have it in Christ.
In fact, a good argument could be made that being a Christian athlete actually frees you up to play and compete with freedom (unlocking even more of Hunter’s God given skill set) instead of fear (expectations that come from being a high draft pick with high expectations).
Assumption Two: Bayless believes baptism is a life changing event that drains you emotionally and should be celebrated longer than a quick “dunk and run”
“Baptism is very special. It’s very emotional. Ultimately could be very draining. It’s a life changing day. It’s a touch God day where you touch God and God touches you. That’s just me. It’s a day you want to stay after service and share with the members of the congregation. It’s a day to dedicate to your rebirth. It’s not a day to dunk and run. To get dunked and run. It takes so much out of you. It’s such a blessing.”
The second assumption Bayless makes when criticizing the timing of Hunter’s baptism is that it would drain him emotionally for the ensuing game. Bayless suggests that Hunter should have gotten baptised during Jacksonville’s bye week instead so he would have time to properly celebrate with others and not waste (my word choice, not his) energy before the game.
I understand what Bayless is saying, but God’s word doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for the “You will be tired during the game if you choose to get baptized right now” argument. The Bible seems to prioritize the immediacy of the baptism over the conveniency of it.
When Philip preached the Gospel in Samaria, they believed and were baptized (Acts 8:12).
When Philip later met an Ethiopian Eunuch and shared the gospel, the Ethiopian believed and pushed to be baptized right away (Acts 8:35-37).
After Saul (turned to Paul) was filled with the Spirit, the scales fell from his eyes and he was immediately baptized (Acts 9:9, 17-19).
Peter shared about Jesus with Cornelius and his family. They believed and they were immediately baptized (Acts 10:44-48).
Once Jesus becomes savior and Lord, the command is simple: go and get baptized. From the various baptism accounts in the book of Acts, we don’t see prioritizing an extended celebration on the back end of the event. Could it have happened? Sure. Is it OK for believers to take a day and celebrate? Absolutely. Should we criticize those who may choose to celebrate with family and friends at a later date? No.
Sure, it sounds like Hunter had wanted to do it for a while, but he still was obedient to get it done. And that should be celebrated—even if he had a game to play in a few hours.
The question is not about whether it will drain someone emotionally but whether they will respond obediently. Hunter did that.
Bayless argues Travis Hunter should use the gifts God gave him—and the platform he has—to influence people by how he carries himself on the field.
“Travis, God gave you a gift to achieve a platform from which you can spread God's word. You can show people, extremely influentially show people, with your pro football platform just how much God has changed your life for the better. But you have to play pro football on Sunday.”
That’s exactly what he is doing—but it might just look differently than Bayless expects as a sports analyst. His baptism is a public declaration that he is no longer primarily Travis the athlete. He is now Travis, adopted son of the living God.
Sure, he can still use his platform during the game to point up to the heavens after he scores or participate in the post game prayer huddle at the fifty yard line—or a plethora of other ways to integrate his newfound faith into his life as an athlete. But through his baptism, he is living out exactly what Bayless is calling him to live out: He is using his platform to show people how much God has changed his life.
This goes for all of us: We need to be careful to not put rules on new believers based on our own personal preferences. In Matthew 23:1-4, Jesus carefully warns the religious leaders not to weigh down people with self-imposed rules. If Hunter feels called to use his platform to show people how God has changed his life, he can do that on—and off the field.
Bayless seems to argue that if Travis Hunter wants to be considered one of the NFL greats, he would be wise to not prioritize faith over football
“This is scary to me because no pro football player who is dedicated to playing pro football would have undertaken such an emotional event, a life changing event, on the morning of an early afternoon game. Nobody would do that.”
Bayless insinuates that former NFL greats would never do something like this. And that may well be true. But getting baptized a few hours before a game surely is not a predictor of athletic success. And who knows, perhaps Hunter has redefined what greatness is altogether?
Maybe he’s learned (or will learn as he hopefully reads God’s word) that true greatness is less about becoming the best athlete of your generation and more about dying daily to self for the good of others.
Aside from the issue of greatness is the problem of commodifying athletes. I’m guilty of this every time I involve myself in fantasy football or cheering for my favorite team. I want athletes to serve my purposes. I want them to play great for me. It’s easy for all of us, Bayless and myself included, to forget that these are actual humans whose first allegiance is to their Creator, not to us.
As the 30 minute sermon came to end, I think Bayless missed the intended mark. What he meant to be spiritual advice sounded more like what too often becomes spiritual abuse. As brothers in Christ, we should be cheering Hunter on in faith and celebrating the baptism, not putting worldly rules around what Hunter’s spiritual decision means for his life as an athlete.
