REPORTS of post-competition partying and condom hand-outs at the Olympics show the need for athletes to be more grounded in their religious faith and the need for the sporting world to recover the idea of athletics as a forge for virtue.

Olympians have a “plays hard, party hard” reputation. The massive condom distribution seems to be evidence of that lifestyle and sends the message that such a lifestyle is permitted and even encouraged at the Olympic Village. On the contrary, athletes should be grounded in their faith and encouraged to engage in prayer and spiritual reading.

They should also have a discipleship-relationship with a spiritual mentor to help combat the dangers of off-the-field activities.

Historically, sports were considered to be a virtue-making machine. The values that correspond with sports were considered to go hand in hand with those that go into being a person of integrity and faith. Vince Lombardi, the former NFL coach of the Green Bay Packers football team, was a good example of that. He lived his faith and it was integral to his coaching.

Today, however, sports are increasingly associated with vice. It should be a vehicle to develop good character, to make a man courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor. We have to recover these original principles of sports so that we can work to forge greater bonds between people and help overcome the real, terrible social problems of our time such as genetic manipulation, human trafficking, and the depletion of the earth’s resources, poverty, famine, and illness.