Such conflicts force parents to choose between having their athletic stars attend church or playing basketball games. Sports usually wins out over going to church. The Sunday morning scheduling has been discussed at the meetings of the St. Paul District Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran church. A spokesperson for the Minnesota Sports Federation said tournaments are scheduled weekends by sponsors who need to provide a full schedule to make the tournament worthwhile. Parents, of course, can choose church over sports, but that ends up penalizing the athlete.
Pastors say the choice unfortunately places the athlete in the middle.
Pastors also say scheduling sports contests by non-school groups on Wednesday nights is reducing attendance at confirmation classes. One pastor said conflicts with sports scheduling has cut confirmation class attendance by 20 percent. The Minnesota Vikings do not intend to lodge a protest about playing games on Christmas Eve. In the past, they have played games on Christmas Day. As for scheduling games for youth on Sundays, pastors wonder why the tournaments can t continue after noon on Sundays.