AP

In most workplaces, it’s well known that the boss can’t impose his religion on the employees. In the NFL, it’s not at all uncommon for coaches to lead post-game prayers, or for general managers to say they want players of faith.

In Washington, two former players say, former coach Jim Zorn allowed religion to divide the locker room. Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley both said on ESPN 980 that Zorn, a devout Christian, made life tough for players who didn’t share his religious beliefs.

“Coach Zorn lost the locker room because he split the locker room between Christians and ballplayers,” Portis said, via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post. “So if you didn’t believe in what he believed in, if you weren’t Antwaan Randle El — I’m saying it, I’m going to talk, I’m on the radio — if you weren’t Antwaan Randle El, if you weren’t the guys who sat and prayed with him and did everything the way they thought your life should be, you kind of got, ‘Well, you’re not doing right’ speeches directed toward you.”

Cooley agreed with Portis, saying the Christian atmosphere Zorn promoted placed too much emphasis on religion and not enough on winning football games.

“He’s not wrong, and this is exactly what I was going to say,” Cooley said. “He didn’t do it with intent though. Jim Zorn didn’t come in with intent to say ‘I want Christians.’ But he sold his pitch, his sales pitch was ‘Believe in and have faith in my program.’ And it was basically a sales pitch to a Christian team. . . . Plus, [Zorn’s offensive coordinator] Sherman Smith did come in and give a sermon every single morning. . . . We’re all hyped about football, Sherman Smith would come in and say this is how we need to live our lives. We’re like, ‘Whoa, I’m fine once I leave leave this building, bro. I want to talk about football.’”

Reached by PFT, Zorn declined to respond to Portis and Cooley’s comments.