The Oak Grove High School football team embraced a remarkable motto for the previous season: “God. Team. Me.” This motto served as a constant reminder for the players to prioritize their faith and ensure that their focus remained on what truly mattered. In fact, I dedicated a section of my latest book to discuss the significance of placing God at the forefront of our lives, particularly in the face of the godless influences prevalent in our public schools. If you’re interested, you can find more information about it by clicking here.
However, a group of atheists from Wisconsin took offense to the inclusion of “God” in the motto and promptly sent a threatening letter to the superintendent of Jefferson County, Alabama schools. The Freedom From Religion Foundation accused the head coach of promoting Christianity within the football program and associating with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It is truly disheartening that they view these affiliations as negative.
Can you imagine a time when atheists would interrogate school teachers about their religious beliefs, demanding to know if they were associated with a Baptist church? It seems absurd.
The atheists lodged several complaints, expressing their displeasure that the motto was displayed on a wall inside the football team’s locker room and embroidered on their shirts and other athletic gear. Additionally, they found a playoff hoodie with an inscription of a Bible verse, Proverbs 27:17, to be particularly offensive.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another,” the verse reads.
“Jefferson County Schools must ensure that this school-sponsored religious coercion ends immediately,” FFRF attorney Chris Line wrote to the superintendent.
Line demanded the coach “must immediately cease engaging in religious activity or otherwise promoting his personal religious beliefs in his role as football coach.
“The religious display in the locker room must be removed and all official school district apparel cannot include religious messages going forward,” Line demanded. “All coaches and staff should be instructed regarding their obligations as public school employees.”
It is evident that the FFRF seems to lack knowledge about the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case concerning a high school coach from Washington state. This ruling clearly states that coaches are not obligated to abandon their religious beliefs upon entering the school premises.
“The district must see to it that players are not being required to pray to play or otherwise expected to wear clothing with religious slogans or walk past religious signage,” FFR co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said. “Religious coercion in sports programs unfortunately is all-too-frequent — and these violations against freedom of conscience need to be curbed.”
Attempting to engage in a rational discourse with an atheist, relying on factual evidence, logical reasoning, and legal arguments, is undoubtedly an endeavor that is unlikely to yield positive results. Perhaps Proverbs 27:15-16 should be revised to read: “A quarrelsome atheist is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; 16 restraining the atheists is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.”
The school district appears to be leaning towards supporting the coaches and the players.
“We have received the letter from the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and we are reviewing it,” Supt. Walter Gonsoulin told AL.com in a statement. “However, the Jefferson County Board of Education is on record as fully supporting the right of its students and all members of the education community to pray and engage in voluntary religious expression in school settings.”
