Bible-bashing American Football Team Must Keep God Off the Pitch

An American football team from the bible belt has been prevented from spreading the word of God during a game tomorrow.

The Birmingham Steeldogs, based in Alabama, had been planning to carry biblical texts on the back of their jerseys for their home game against Louisville Fire, a first in US sports history.

The Steeldogs' name would be replaced on the jerseys by the Old Testament strongman Samson, the name of a book in the bible would replace the player's name and the number would refer to the chapter and the text. Jersey number 12 would become James, chapter 1, verse 2: "I consider it pure joy, my brother, whenever you face trials of many kinds."

But league officials, based in New York, invoked a rule preventing teams from making arbitrary changes and threatened a $1,000 (about £540) fine per jersey, and a further $50,000 for conduct detrimental to the game.

Chris McCloskey, of the Arena Football League, which includes the Steeldogs, said yesterday: "Teams can't simply modify their jerseys on a whim in any way they want." He added: "This has nothing to do, frankly, with religion. Promotions can't spill on to the field of play."

A compromise has been reached in which the Steeldogs, who play in the minor indoor league, will wear the jerseys in the pre-match warm-up and after-match autograph signing and not during the game. Matt Hooper, a spokesman for the team, said: "The players had a meeting about it and there were no objections. They were all fired up to do it."

The jerseys have been made by the Christian Throwback Jersey Company, which says it "specialises in outfitting today's Christian with a wide array of religious sports and athletic attire".