By JEFF JELLISON
Guest Columnist
Recently I read a CNN news story published on WISH-TV’s website regarding a high school football coach that was disciplined and barred from praying on the 50-yard line following a game.
According to the article, the school district said it never disciplined the coach from offering silent, private prayers, but threatened to do so only after he asked to pray on the 50-yard line when players were on the field and the crowd was still in the stands.
The coach, in disagreement with the district, filed a lawsuit which eventually was heard by an appellate court.
The appellate court said the district offered to accommodate the coach the opportunity to exercise his religion in a way that would not be perceived as District endorsement of religion by providing that a private location within the school be made available to the coach or allowing him to wait until the crowed dissipated before taking a knee.
The coach’s attorney argued that brief personal acts of religious expression plainly were not undertaken as part of his job responsibilities as an assistant football coach.
I would like to point out a photo of the coach praying alongside a small group of players was published in the article. The players were seen in the photograph with arms wrapped around each other.
It’s my opinion, prayer can be an opportunity for people to gather and bond, a very important attribute of any successful athletic team.
It is also my opinion that good coaches are “carpenters of men.” In my day those “carpenters” were Noblesville’s Jim Belden, Phil Shelby, Dave Nicholson, and Don Dunker; Carmel’s Bill Shepherd and Eric Clark, and many other coaches throughout the county. They recognized the importance of a strong foundation of faith, and none were handcuffed by their school districts.
I understand our country today is not what it was 45 years ago. We have a larger population of many religions. I don’t care if coaches are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Sikh … each should be given the opportunity to share the 50-yard line in prayer. The coaches and players who choose not to kneel at midfield should equally have the opportunity to walk off the field and share the locker room.
As Chief Deputy Coroner for Hamilton County, I often see the end result of people who don’t have a strong foundation in their lives, people who feel they don’t have the opportunity to be seen or heard, and people who don’t have coaches or community role models to turn to during difficult times.
Let’s not judge our “carpenters of men” by touchdowns and field goals. Allow them the opportunity to coach a foundation of faith, whatever faith it may be, into any young man or woman who chooses to wrap arms in prayer publicly … even on the 50-yard line.
Jeff Jellison is the former publisher of the Hamilton County Reporter. He now serves as the Chief Deputy Coroner for Hamilton County.