High school football player penalized for praying after touchdown

FORT MYERS, FL -- You see it at almost every college and professional football game. Players, like those on the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys, joining hands together in prayer.

But when a south Florida high school player got down on his knees to pray, he was flagged with a penalty.

Senior Sam Turner of Fort Myers, Florida took a knee in the end zone after scoring his first-ever touchdown and raised his arms into the air.

"I said 'thank you, God, for this talent you've blessed me with,'" Turner told The News-Press.

But as soon as Turner's knees hit the turf, a referee threw a flag, earning his team a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"The ref came up and talked to me and said I was trying to bring attention to myself and I was trying to explain to him that that wasn't the case at all," Turner told WINK-TV. "I wasn't trying to bring attention to myself I was just trying to thank God."

The penalty was enforced on the ensuing kickoff and had little impact on the game. Turner's team ended up winning, 49-0.

Turner says he respects the referee's decision, but he also hopes players will be able to honor their faith in the future without penalty.