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Coach Takes Players to Church – Claims No Pressure ((Updated)Updated)

Here we go again.

It seems that a football coach at Breckinridge  County (KY) High School has caused some commotion because he took some of his players to a "voluntary" church service, at which several were baptized during an altar call.

(Louisville TV station WLKY has a report on this here.)

This one is something of a tangled mess, because:

1. The Breckinridge Co. superintendent, Janet Meeks, was present at the event.
2. A county school bus was used, but the gas was apparently paid for personally by a different coach.
3. At least some of the parents were there with their kids.
4. At least some parents claim not to have known that the service was religious in nature.
5. County lines were crossed (the church is in Hardin County).
6. Some of the players who were baptized were under 18 (according to the Courier-Journal report on the matter).

There seem to be some different accounts of what the players were told they were in for on the outing - some claim that they were aware that it would be a religious event, and some claim they were told only that it would be a motivational speaker and a dinner.

The problem here is that in any event, the coach of a public school team must refrain from proselytizing his players, because as long as there is even the slightest chance that one of the players could think "if I don't go along with this, he won't play me in the game", or (conversely) "if I go along with this, he'll start me over the other guy", there exists a tension between the coach's actions and his publicly funded role.  It's far better to simply avoid the problem entirely.

Now, Superintendent Meeks, quoted in the Courier-Journal article, takes a swipe at the player whose parents raised the issue:

She said that if Robert’s parents didn’t know that the outing was going to include a revival service it was because “he apparently was not forthcoming with his parents.”

Of course, Meeks is also quoted in the same article showing that she doesn't have a very clear understanding of the concept of parental rights of minor children:

Meeks said she would have sought the consent of parents for the baptism of students if they had been “7 or 8 or 9” years old. But she didn’t think it was necessary for the players who are “16 or 17.”

Considering that 17 year olds still require parental permission before taking a field trip, which Meeks would know, her statements here seem somewhat...disingenuous.

The issue here isn't one of freedom of religion.  The coach, the superintendent, and the players (and their families) are all free to practice whatever religion they want (or none at all), and attend whatever services they wish.

What the coach and superintendent, qua public employees who have authority over students, cannot do is push religion at those students.  Period.

It isn't that difficult of a concept to understand.

(UPDATE:  Rebecca at Skepchick cites coverage of this that indicates that this isn't the first time that the coach has taken teams to church.  This means the problem is more than just an overzealous coach and points to a more systemic issue.  One has to wonder what the response would be if he'd taken his players to, say, a Scientology office where they watched a tape of Tom Cruise going on about his OT abilities, then gave them a chance to take a CoS personality test...) 

(UPDATE 2: Ed Brayton links to an article that states that the school system in question required parental opt-in for the students to view President Obama's speech on Sept. 8.  I'll just let that speak for itself.)

Jay

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NB - I've only personally encountered this situation once, in college (a state university).  I had an organic chemistry lab instructor/grad student who actively solicited students (he was particularly aggressive towards the women, but he talked up everyone) to join his church.  Politely declining wasn't enough to put him off, and it finally took several of us commenting to the department chair before he stopped, apologized for his actions, and assured everyone that their grades weren't at risk.  It was awkward for everyone - he was a nice guy and I genuinely liked him except for the witnessing and the invitations.

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