Religious issues
FILE - Permian linebacker Israel Martinez, left, and defensive lineman Tyler Tomlinson pray before a high school football game against Abilene on Friday, Oct. 17, 2014, at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas. Abilene won 30-13. A poll by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted Sept. 9-12, 2022, finds that about 3 in 10 Americans say they feel God plays a role in determining which team goes home the victor. (Edyta Blaszczyk/Odessa American via AP, File)
AP-NORC poll: On game day, some see prayer as a Hail Mary

By Holly Meyer Sep. 30, 2022 09:01 AM EDT

FILE - This Dec. 1, 2012 file photo shows a silhouette of a crucifix and a stained glass window inside a Catholic Church in New Orleans. The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them, officials and others familiar with the inquiry told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FBI opens sweeping probe of clergy sex abuse in New Orleans

By Jim Mustian Jun. 29, 2022 10:14 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 2, 2020, file photo, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh watches during the NFL football team's practice in Santa Clara, Calif. Saleh, the New York Jets' new head coach, has families in neighborhoods all across the country celebrating the first known Muslim American to hold that position in NFL history. That's a source of great pride for a community that has been generally underrepresented in the league's on-field leadership roles. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool, File)
Saleh's hiring by Jets source of pride for Muslim community

By Dennis Waszak Jr. Jan. 16, 2021 02:33 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2020, file photo, members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including John Gianoli, right, and John Anderson, hold signs during a news conference in front of the New Orleans Saints training facility in Metairie, La. The pro football team acknowledged the week before that its front office helped church leaders deal with the public relations fallout that followed the publishing of a list of local clergymen the archdiocese deemed "credibly accused" of sexually abusing children. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)
Palestino vs Colo Colo 1/28/2020

Dec. 28, 2020 12:04 AM EST

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2017, file photo, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson sits on the sideline with his wife, Gayle Benson, before an NFL football game in New Orleans. An Associated Press review of public tax documents found that the Bensons' foundation has given at least $62 million to the Archdiocese of New Orleans and other Catholic causes over the past dozen years, including gifts to schools, universities, charities and individual parishes. (AP Photo/Bill Feig, File)
Judge denies media request to unseal files on Saints owner

By Jim Mustian Jul. 15, 2020 12:03 PM EDT

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond speaks at Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' daily coronavirus press briefing via conference call on Friday, April 10, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. Aymond is recovering from COVID-19. (AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte)
Saints emails, lawsuits could be buried in church bankruptcy

By Jim Mustian And Michael Rezendes May. 05, 2020 02:40 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2016, file photo, a New Orleans Saints helmet rests on the playing field before an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo. An Associated Press review of public tax documents found that the Bensons' foundation has given at least $62 million to the Archdiocese of New Orleans and other Catholic causes over the past dozen years, including gifts to schools, universities, charities and individual parishes. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Official: Saints emails on clergy crisis should stay secret

By Jim Mustian Apr. 09, 2020 07:11 PM EDT

Edward Dirk Wegmann, attorney for the New Orleans Archdiocese, right, and James C. Gulotta, Jr., attorney for the New Orleans Saints, leave a hearing at Orleans Parish Civil District Court in New Orleans, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. The New Orleans Saints headed to court Thursday in a bid to block the release of hundreds of confidential emails detailing the behind-the-scenes public relations work the team did for the area's Roman Catholic archdiocese amid its sexual abuse crisis. The request comes amid claims that the NFL team joined the Archdiocese of New Orleans in a “pattern and practice” of concealing sexual abuse — an allegation the Saints have vehemently denied. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
NFL Saints backed by church in effort to keep emails secret

By Jim Mustian Feb. 20, 2020 12:22 AM EST

FILE - In this March 27, 2019, file photo, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond talks with NOLA.com | The Times Picayune at the archdiocese office in New Orleans, La. Aymond has been spotted on the field at New Orleans Saints games and inside the team's Superdome box and has flown on the owner’s private jet. He is known for celebrating stirring pregame Masses. (David Grunfeld/NOLA.com/The Advocate via AP, File)
Judge orders open hearing on NFL team's emails with church

By Kevin Mcgill Feb. 13, 2020 01:10 AM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2019, file photo, New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson, watches the team warm up, before an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in New Orleans. The Saints contend their behind-the-scenes public relations work on the area’s Roman Catholic sexual abuse crisis was “minimal,” but attorneys suing the church allege hundreds of confidential Saints emails show just the opposite, the team actively helping to shape a list of credibly accused clergy that appears to be an undercount. Benson, who is close friends with the local archbishop, have disputed as “outrageous” any suggestion that the team helped cover up crimes. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)
Saints owner denies team had role in clergy sex abuse list

By Jim Mustian Feb. 10, 2020 07:30 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2016, file photo, a New Orleans Saints helmet rests on the playing field before an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo. The Saints are going to court to keep the public from seeing hundreds of emails that allegedly show team executives doing public relations damage control for the area's Roman Catholic archdiocese to help it contain the fallout from a burgeoning sexual abuse crisis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Judge allows AP to be heard in dispute over Saints emails

By Jim Mustian Jan. 31, 2020 02:02 PM EST

Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including Richard Windmann, hold signs in front of the New Orleans Saints training facility in Metairie, La., Wednesday Jan. 29, 2020. The pro football team acknowledged last week that its front office helped church leaders deal with the public relations fallout that followed the publishing a list of local clergymen the archdiocese deemed “credibly accused” of sexually abusing children. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
NFL's Saints accused of helping shape clergy sex abuse list

By Jim Mustian Jan. 30, 2020 09:54 AM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2016, file photo, a New Orleans Saints helmet rests on the playing field before an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo. The Saints are going to court to keep the public from seeing hundreds of emails that allegedly show team executives doing public relations damage control for the area's Roman Catholic archdiocese to help it contain the fallout from a burgeoning sexual abuse crisis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Saints-Chiefs 10/23/2016

Jan. 24, 2020 02:05 PM EST

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2017, file photo, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson sits on the sideline with his wife, Gayle Benson, before an NFL football game in New Orleans. Attorneys for several men suing the Roman Catholic church say documents they obtained through discovery show that the New Orleans Saints team aided the Archdiocese of New Orleans in its “pattern and practice of concealing its crimes.” (AP Photo/Bill Feig, File)
New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints 9/17/2017

Jan. 24, 2020 02:05 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2016, file photo, a New Orleans Saints helmet rests on the playing field before an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo. The Saints are going to court to keep the public from seeing hundreds of emails that allegedly show team executives doing public relations damage control for the area's Roman Catholic archdiocese to help it contain the fallout from a burgeoning sexual abuse crisis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
NFL’s Saints fight to shield emails in Catholic abuse crisis

By Jim Mustian Jan. 24, 2020 02:04 PM EST

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, left, speaks with former NFL player and Football Hall of Fame player Tony Gonzalez before the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons 11/28/2019

Nov. 28, 2019 07:49 PM EST

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees warms up before an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, in New Orleans, LA. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints 11/24/2019

Nov. 24, 2019 11:47 AM EST

Fans at Heinz Field stand for moment of silence in memory of the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue a year ago on Oct. 27, 2018, before an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins in Pittsburgh, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers 10/28/2019

Oct. 28, 2019 08:27 PM EDT

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, center, of the Tree of Life/Or L'Simcha Congregation, is comforted after saying a prayer for the souls of the deceased during the one-year commemoration of the Tree of Life synagogue attack, at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)
Steelers moment of silence commemorates synagogue shooting

Oct. 28, 2019 08:18 PM EDT

Lawyer appeals NFL no-call ruling after abuse case citation

By Janet Mcconnaughey Sep. 26, 2019 05:53 PM EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — After the dismissal of the "Nola No-call" lawsuit against the NFL was cited by attorneys for the Roman Catholic Church in a sex abuse case, a New...