John, I would remind you that peer pressure, especially in high school and even more especially as a member of a team, is significant. We don't know, no one does, how many players on the team would prefer not to wear the cross symbol. We do know from our own life experiences that those kids who disagree are highly unlikely to speak up. In addition, the act of placing a religious symbol on their helmets may discourage non-Christian kids from trying out for football. Lastly, unless people read about it in the press, anyone unfamiliar with the reason for the symbol and most opposing teams only see the cross and it is thus left up to interpretation.
The same can be said for religious martyrdom. Just this week I read where a teacher in Georgia is burning all his sick days to protest the fact that he can't talk about Jesus in the public school classroom. In an interview he admitted that he did do it and said that as Christ grows in him he talks more about Jesus in the classroom, but that it was his right to share Jesus's message with the class and that he was being punished for his religious views. :roll:
We do hear/read about this sort of self imposed religious martyrdom frequently. "They won't let God in the classroom", "They hate Jesus", "They want to silence the word of the Lord".