A high school football coach in Lynn Haven, Florida seemingly saw no problem with using his position to steer his players toward practicing Christianity, the Friendly Atheist reported.
"I'm in the business of earning crowns and not ring," A. Crawford Mosley head football coach Jeremy Brown said in an interview aired on WJHG-TV. "If every kid on our football team is saved then I've been successful as a coach."
The story, which aired last week, featured interviews with Brown and two players and discusses the school chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). One of the players, Brandon Parish, is also seen discussing possible opposition to Brown preaching at his players.
"I see where they're coming from with it because not everybody has the same views," Parish says. "But a lot of Christians respect the views that people have about not wanting that, so I think they should just respect the views that Christians have about doing that."
Brown himself makes an allusion toward this concern, while maintaining that his favorite part of his job is "sharing Christ with kids."
"I know that it's probably not, maybe not politically correct, but at the end of the day that's my heart and that's where I'm at," Brown said of his activities. "We just want the kids to know we love them and that we're there for them, and that it is bigger than football."
Another player, Ben Raybon, is seen in the story saying that the team holds prayers before and after each practice, while FCA members also hold weekly meetings. Another coach, Bremerton High's Joe Kennedy in Washington state, was suspended earlier this year by his local school district for similar actions.
"The district is in no way taking away an athletic coach's freedom of expression," local Superintendent Aaron Leavell said of suspending Kennedy. "What we are doing is what every state-funded agency and school district must do: abide by the laws that govern us."
Kennedy subsequently defied the order, creating a situation where members of the Satanic Temple offered to deliver an invocation at Bremerton.
WJHG's report can be seen below.
