FWST: Patterson: Hill celebration gesture was part of religious belief

Quarterback Kenny Hill’s celebration gesture in the end zone was part of his religious belief, TCU coach Gary Patterson said, and something he would have liked to have known about before the game.

“If he wants to do something like that, he just needs to let me know. That way I can do a better job of backing him up,” Patterson said Monday during the Big 12 coaches conference call with reporters. “We’ve learned a lesson.”

Hill made a gesture with his right hand, bringing it from his left shoulder near his throat and down across his chest, after a 5-yard touchdown run to put TCU ahead late in Saturday’s game against Arkansas. The celebration was sign language for rising kings, a TCU spokesman said.