Of the many messages of support that Rick Majerus has received this week, the most meaningful probably came from the notable Utah conservative, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch.

Hatch and Majerus have  known each other for more than a decade, since Majerus took over the Utah basketball program. Politically, they agree on very little. Hatch is a conservative Republican. Majerus is a liberal Democrat. They’ve had spirited debates over gun control, abortion rights, the death penalty, and stem-cell research. The two friends have engaged in spirited but civil discourse. But each man respects the other for sticking to his beliefs that are based on principle.

Same with Jon Huntsman Jr. the Governor of Utah and a Majerus pal. Huntsman’s father, businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., is one of Majerus’ best friends. And Huntsman Sr. was a member of President Richard M. Nixon’s White House Staff. Majerus said that whenever he gets together with Huntsman Sr., he wants to hear Nixon stories, because Majerus finds Nixon to be one of the most compelling figures of 20th Century American life.

As much as Majerus enjoys conversations with people who agree with him, he draws more enjoyment from discussing the issues of the day with those who disagree with him. Majerus doesn’t try to squash dissenting opinion; he encourages it. (OK, this doesn’t necessarily apply to basketball practice, if his players pop off. But that’s a different dynamic).

So Majerus was touched when Hatch sent a message Wednesday, telling Majerus that he admired The Coach for being a stand-up guy in stating his beliefs on abortion rights and stem cell research.  Majerus is pro choice, and is a passionate supporter of stem cell research, and those beliefs were famously criticized by St. Louis Archibishop Raymond Burke, who reminded us that they are in conflict with the official positions of the Catholic Church.

When Majerus stated those opinions during a Hillary Clinton rally over the weekend in an impromptu interview with KMOV-TV Channel 4, he didn’t realize he’d be setting off a firestorm of controversy. His elderly mother was shaken by the blowback from Burke, who criticized Majerus and recommended discipline. Burke also said he would deny Majerus the right to receive Holy Communion.

When we had dinner Wednesday night, Majerus was cordial in tone as he discussed Burke. And he didn’t throw any bombs. But it was clear to me that he’d never back off from his views, or, more importantly, his right to express his views. Majerus reiterated that he doesn’t speak for Saint Louis University or the Archdiocese. He doesn’t demand that anyone agrees with him — though he would like to rally folks around the cause of stem-cell research.

Majerus is just a guy who has a lifelong love of politics, and is devoted to certain causes, and he is doing what comes naturally: speaking from the heart, with maximum sincerity.

The first time I met Majerus, we sat down for a wonderful meal and nearly three hours of conversation at Lo Russo’s Cucina. We discussed many things. But the basketball talk took up about 15 minutes. We delved into poltics, and political writers, and modern newspapering, and the battle of the bulge, and Majerus’ childhood, and how he got his values system. Majerus is an interesting, complex man with a world view that he’s continually tweaking in his never-ending search for knowledge.  And it’s clear to me that his parents encouraged Rick, early and often, to stand up for what he believed in, and to resist those who would attempt to suppress those beliefs.

Majerus has marched in Civil Rights rallies. He questioned the Vietnam war and grieved the death of classmates who died there. He opposes the death penalty and has protested outside of prisons. His father, a prominent Milwaukee union boss, drummed up votes in Wisconsin for Jimmy Carter’s successful campaign for President in 1976; Majerus helped his father win the state for Carter. Majerus also made three campaign appearances for John Kerry in 2004 when Kerry unsuccessfully ran for the White House. Majerus has also voted for Republicans during his life. He has sat in on Divinity conferences at Cal-Berkley and Yale. He was part of a dinner saluting Mother Teresa.

Majerus, raised a Catholic, graduated from the Jesuit-based Marquette University in Milwaukee, and he’s always been curious about all forms of religion. He once accompanied Huntsman Sr. on an around-the-world trip, and during the incredible journey he took advantage of the opportunity to pray in mosques, and in Buddhist temples, and in any place where he could learn about another culture’s religion.

“I don’t think anyone has the market cornered on religion,” Majerus told me Wednesday night. “It’s a deeply personal thing. And I never want to impose my views on someone else. I will share my views, certainly. But not impose them, as if I have all the answers, and that I am always right. So I want to discover all that I can. Maybe there is something I don’t know.”

The polarizing Burke, on the other hand, has adopted a zero-tolerance policy. According to Burke, it’s the Catholic Church’s way… or the proverbial highway. Those who don’t comply strictly with the Vatican’s teachings aren’t about to receive a warm welcome from the Archbishop.

Majerus doesn’t understand that. He believes churches should be inclusive. He doesn’t understand why any church would take a hostile position that could drive worshipers, or potential worshipers, away. “Again, this is just my personal view, but it makes me sad to think that anyone would be made to feel unwelcome or unwanted when they walk through the doors of a church,” he said.

Majerus quotes from the play, “Inherit the Wind,” which is a fictional account of the 1925 Scopes Monkey trial that essentially pitted creationists against evolutionists.

“What I’d like to say to the Archbishop is, ‘Sometimes we look for God too high up, and too far away,’  ” Majerus said.  

Majerus’ views on abortion rights follow a standard if basic line. He said he is not in favor of abortions, but he believes that no one has the right to tell a woman what to do — “especially a man,” he said. “It’s easy for us to say. But that decision belongs to the woman.” (I believe the issue is more complex than that, but again, Majerus is entitled to his opinion).

Majerus is wholly impassioned about stem cell research. He saw a friend suffer and die from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and saw the man’s family devastated by the helplessness of the disease. As Majerus showed me a photo of the man, sitting in a wheelchair in the final weeks of his life, the coach’s eyes welled up.

Majerus has a huge pile of papers on the issue of stem cell research; he reads all that he can on the subject, and has discussed it with research scientists. He does not know if stem cell research can cure ALS and other terminal or life-threatening diseases, but he is adamant about the need to continually seek solutions.

And that is Majerus’ biggest gripe with official Catholic policy.

“If religion speaks to anything, it should be optimism and hope,” Majerus said. “In some cases, those patients who are suffering, and their families — all they have left is hope and faith. And I’ve witnessesed this, first hand. So, yeah, I personalize these issues. But why take away that hope? If stem cell research could lead to a dramatic breakthrough that would save lives or improve lives, then don’t we owe that to these brave people?”

Though he wouldn’t provide a dollar amount — the cost is believed to be considerable — Majerus funds a patient room at the Huntsman Cancer Center in Utah. His friends have been treated there, and have stayed in that room. Outside the door is a plaque, listing the names of Majerus’ parents; the room is named in their honor. His father is deceased, and his mother is battling cancer. Majerus gets choked up when he talks about his mom, and what she’s going through.

“Maybe a basketball coach shouldn’t talk about this stuff, and I know it would be easier for me if I didn’t,” Majerus said. “And this may sound corny. But I believe this in my heart: why should people suffer when maybe, somewhere out there, we can find a cure? Why should families be left broken hearted, because they feel so hopeless? With all due respect to the Catholic Church, that doesn’t make sense to me. Isn’t religion supposed to be about hope and renewal?”

This tempest aside, Majerus is happy coaching at SLU. It’s a grind, especially the recruiting, the long hours. And the undermanned Billikens are making a rough transition to his style of play. But Majerus is holding up physically. He said he’s still glad that he took the job at SLU. He’s grateful of the support shown to him by the SLU president, the Rev. Lawrence Biondi.

“And let me tell you,” Majerus said Wednesday. “Even with all of this going on, I’m really in a good mood today. We had a great practice today. The best practice of the season. I really like these kids. I know it’s hard for them. But I appreciate the effort they are making.”

Majerus does worry that there will be a backlash to this controversy, a backlash to his views. That it could be injurious to his recruiting. Or that some offended SLU boosters may decide to withdraw their financial support.

I don’t know why this would hurt recruiting.

If I had a son who played basketball, I’d rather have him play for a man of principle, a man of conviction, a man who will stand up for his beliefs. I may not agree with Rick Majerus on some matters, and I wince at some of the things he says about his players, but I do know this: his heart is in the right place.

Thanks for reading this long blog; I appreciate it….

 –B