The Oak Grove High School football team adopted a terrific motto for last year’s season: “God. Team. Me.”
It was a reminder to put God first in their lives — to make sure the main thing is the main thing. I actually wrote about this very topic in my new book on how to save America from the godless heathens who control our public schools. Click here to read it.
But a bunch of atheists from Wisconsin objected to the “God” part of the message and fired off a threatening letter to the Jefferson County, Alabama school superintendent.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation accused the head coach of infusing the football program with Christianity and with also being affiliated with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. As if, that’s a bad thing.
Imagine a time when atheists would demand to know of school teachers: are you now or have you ever been a member of a Baptist church?
The atheists fired off a number of complaints. They were upset that the message had been painted on a wall inside the football team locker room. And that it was embroidered on shirts and other athletic apparel.
And even more triggering was a playoff hoodie inscribed with a Bible verse, Proverbs 27:17.
“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 in a demand letter 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.
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“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.”
Clearly, the FFRF must not be aware that the Supreme Court ruled in a case involving a high school coach from Washington state that coaches are not required to leave their religious beliefs at the schoolhouse door.
“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.”
Of course, attempting to reason with an atheist with facts and logic and the law is a losing proposition. 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 seems inclined to back 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.”
As I wrote in “Twilight’s Last Gleaming: Can America Be Saved?”, it’s never a good idea for out-of-town atheists to go poking the good Christian people in Alabama. Now, don’t misunderstand. The South is known for its genteel hospitality. Just don’t talk bad about our mommas or the Baby Jesus. Click here to read my book (it triggers atheists).