TENNESSEE

🚨 Coach Removed for Proselytizing at Halftime 🚨

At a Tennessee high school football game last week, an assistant coach was escorted off the field after refusing to stop praying with players while holding a Bible during halftime. He’s now on leave while the district investigates.

👏 We applaud Northwest High School for taking swift action to protect students’ rights and uphold the separation of church and state. TOO often, districts look the other way — but here, leadership stepped in and put students first. Thank you Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. The fact that Campbell was placed on leave pending further investigation is in line with standard procedures when a formal complaint has been made and there may be a legal or constitutional issue.

🚨Let’s be clear: this isn’t about banning prayer. Every student and coach has the right to personal faith. The Supreme Court affirmed that private, individual prayer is protected.

But halftime isn’t private time — it’s coaching time. When a coach uses their position of authority to lead students in prayer, it crosses into proselytizing under official capacity. Players may feel pressured to join in, even if they don’t share the same beliefs, for fear of losing favor or being ostracized. That’s coercion, not choice.

And here’s the test:
👉 Would the community be equally comfortable if a Muslim coach led players in Islamic prayer? Or if a Wiccan coach read from their sacred texts at halftime? If not, then allowing one faith to dominate isn’t neutrality — it’s favoritism.

Public schools exist for all of us, not as pulpits for some. Protecting students means drawing the line between personal belief (always allowed) and official proselytizing (never appropriate).

✊ The Secular Education Association will continue to defend that line — because every student deserves a school free from religious coercion.

*from the article*

“It’s my understanding that the concern was not with private prayer, but that the principal received a concern that an employee was proselytizing in their official capacity. We will investigate, and I can share more when that investigation has concluded,” wrote Anthony Johnson, the school district’s chief communications officer, in a statement.”

https://www.cleveland19.com/2025/09/10/high-school-football-coach-escorted-out-game-after-complaint-he-was-pushing-religion-players/?fbclid=IwZnRzaAMuT2VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkiUCPDymBaxxUztiorz42POp9o65EfeNvc6nE3MwPJ9FAsda66jN4o4UA5r_aem_6yUBSu_qo850jAellyZMFg#bcihrizjsjrg4uqapopgdpomr48qqbifc

#SeparationOfChurchAndState #ProtectPublicSchools #StudentsFirst

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