The University of Wisconsin-Madison sent a friendly reminder to 2016 Spring Commencement speaker Russell Wilson Thursday asking him to refrain from reciting the entirety of the Holy Bible during his address.
The current Seattle Seahawks quarterback and former Badger standout was not asked to leave Christianity out of his speech altogether, but merely to avoid reading all 1,281 pages of the Old and New Testament.
“We know that Russell is a Christian, and we absolutely respect that,” UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. “However, we need his address to not exceed 30 minutes, and we want his remarks to feel relatable to students from different ideological backgrounds.”
The Super Bowl XLVIII champion is a devout Christian known for mentioning his faith during interviews. Wilson has made it clear he believes wins and losses are determined by none other than God himself.
“Russell’s beliefs are without a doubt a part of his success story,” Athletic Director Barry Alvarez said. “I’d like to see him try to keep it to under 20 Bible references, though. That would be a nice challenge for him.”
Wilson publicly responded to the university’s request.
“I appreciate the input from my alma mater and thank God that he has blessed me to speak at and finally participate in graduation,” Wilson tweeted. “I have taken the feedback into account and am currently rewriting my speech.”
