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Eli Herring, a 340-pound offensive tackle. In his senior year He had a 3.5 grade-point average and was judged a top senior offensive tackle in the pro draft. But Herring turned down a possible multimillion-dollar deal with the Oakland Raiders because he, too, won’t play on a holy day. Unfortunately, his holy day, Sunday, comes up once a week, just when the Raiders buckle on their equipment and go to work.

Herring meditated intensely over his dilemma. He could sign up with the NFL, play ball on Sundays and fill his life with fancy cars and houses, or he could teach math for $25,000 a year and honor the Sabbath. Herring’s answer was to honor the Sabbath. He announced to the NFL that if he were drafted, he wouldn’t serve. Now, six years later, Herring is a math teacher at Mountain View High School in Orem, UT. He and his wife of eight years have four...

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