helmetcrossFootball players at Arkansas State University were ordered to either remove a Christian cross decal from their helmets or modify it into a mathematical sign after a Jonesboro attorney complained that the image violated the U.S. Constitution.

The cross decal was meant to memorialize former player Markel Owens and former equipment manager Barry Weyer, said athletic director Terry Mohajir.  Weyer was killed in a June car crash. Owens was gunned down in Tennessee in January…

Read the full story here: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/09/11/football-team-forced-to-remove-christian-crosses-from-helmets/

UPDATE:

JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas State University said Wednesday it was wrong for the school to place crosses on the back of its football helmets as a memorial to two students, but that it will allow athletes to add their own remembrances as long as they comply with NCAA rules.

Liberty Institute, a Plano, Texas, law firm, had complained that Arkansas State violated its students’ rights by modifying crosses intended to honor a player and equipment manager who died in the past year. The vertical post of the cross was removed, leaving only a horizontal bar with the pair’s initials…

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/09/17/arkansas-state-wont-return-crosses-to-helmets/15803815/