and? What if it is absolutely true that everyone thinks that every in Utah, including those there only for the purposes of attending school are mormon? That doesn't mean that they ARE in fact mormon, or that they DO in fact represent my religion... thus making those things far easier to brush off for me.

Anyone that goes to BYU, or plays for their team is part of the "misisonary tool" that is BYU... When you play on a BYU sports team you essentially agree to represent the church to the world.

Your inability to grasp this concept would baffle me if I thought for a second that you actually didn't grasp it.

I will absolutely admit that it would possibly reflect negatively on my religion if a non LDS Ute athlete did something stupid... but it's way easier for me to explain said player doesn't represent my religion in any way shape or form than if they were the same person, with the same religion, but playing for BYU.