This list contains information about athletes who are atheists, loosely based on fame and popularity. Several famous cyclists, NBA players, and MMA fighters are atheists. While these athletes do not believe in God, many of them still consider themselves to be spiritual. Some of these people's lack of religion caused tension amongst their teammates.
Who is the most famous athlete who is atheist? Lance Armstrong tops our list. He says, "If there was a God, I’d still have both nuts." Bruce Lee is believed to have been a spiritual atheist. When asked if he believed in God, Lee said, "To be perfectly frank, I really do not." MMA fighter Frank Mir called religion "the retarded stepchild of philosophy."
Distance swimmer Diana Nyad told Oprah Winfrey that she thinks that an atheist can still be spiritual. "I think you can be an atheist who doesn’t believe in an overarching Being who created all of this and sees over it. But there’s spirituality because we human beings, and we animals, and maybe even we plants, but certainly the ocean and the moon and the stars, we all live with something that is cherished and we feel the treasure of it," she said.
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Former NFL player and veteran Pat Tillman was atheist. After his death, his younger brother was angered at politicians' assertions that Tillman was in heaven. He said, "He's not with God, he's f**king dead. He's not religious."
Age: Dec. at 27 (1976-2004)
Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Fremont, California
Teams: Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State Sun Devils football
Soccer player Johan Cruijff is atheist. He said, "In Spain, all 22 players pray for the match before they enter the pitch. If that would work, we would only have draws. And we don't. Therefore, there is no God."
Age: 75
Nationality: Netherlands
Birthplace: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Teams: FC Barcelona, AFC Ajax, Netherlands national football team, Feyenoord, Levante UD
