Boise State University chief football coach Spencer Danielson has received considerable success for his team.
His players seem to respect and admire him for a good reason. It encourages good character and hard work at least as well as preparing players to win.
He has been criticized, including this Board for excessively expressing his Christian faith in his possibilities as a state university employee.
As Aidah’s statesman Shaun Goodwin reported, it does not seem that criticism from the outside is shared from the inside – team members, their parents and others.
This does not mean that its possible invasion of church and state separation should be easily evaluated.
“Coach D, he is a wonderful person, and religion is a huge part of him, and he does not force anyone,” Long Snapper Mason Hutton told Goodwin.
But the other thing is clear: if Danielson did not behave like a A Christian He will not be allowed for a very long time for his players.
To try this, ask yourself: What if Danielson led athletes in Muslim prayer or quoted from the Qur’an during a television interview? And what if they were leading them in Hindu worship? And what if he repeated excerpts from the fierce atheist Richard Dawkins?
The answer is obvious: it will not be tolerated for a second. Aidaho lawmakers would call for dismissal and expected budgets of AX college. There will be resentment and then the growing population of the state is growing.
Danielson does not work in a vacuum and Aidaho has a very ugly history of religious intolerance. When the state was established, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Last Day were not allowed to vote, hold office or serve the jurors.
These have been a long time ago, but there are many modern examples, such as re -efforts to demonize Aidaho refugees because some of them are Muslims.
Aidaho legislator begins every day prayer, always Christian.
There was an exception a decade ago, when the leaders of the then Moderate Aidah Senate decided to accept ecumenism, allowing the Hindu clergyman to give a prayer in the Shal, founded for religious freedom. In response, the elder Sheryl Naxoll, in the extreme right -wing senator, which could then be found, who today would find himself a relative centrist, condemned Hinduism as a “false religion with false gods.” Don’t be out of view, old Steve Vick accused Hindus for “worship of cows.”
Next year, members of the legislator invited the pastor Shahram Hadian to talk about the “true face of Islam”-the members of the world’s second largest religion that attacked the world. That year, legislators killed a draft law, which allowed cross -border support for the child to collect payments according to a strange theory that Aidah would rule Sharia.
It was a decade ago. Today everything is different. It is now impossible to imagine that the Legislative Leaders would allow Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim religious leader to give the original prayer. The accounts are now being delivered, which requires all students of public schools to read the Bible James Bible for a long time.
Add it all, and there is a clear message to any non -Christian Aidaho: here the official religion is Christianity, the first amendment will be condemned.
If you are something else you can be tolerated or you can be persecuted. One thing you will never be is smooth.
Danielson is not responsible for this story, but it works in it. It is fulfilling a special commitment to ensure that non -Christian players and potential recruitment are sure that they will be treated as equal. Fortunately, it seems he is doing it.
As Danielson said: “Our team has guys who are Christians, our team has guys who are LDS, our team have guys who are Muslims, our team have guys who don’t want to do anything at this moment of their lives.”
Given the fact that the team will occasionally present readings and inspirational excerpts from the Mormon Book and the Qur’an, as well as the criticism of religious belief? And maybe they are; Danielson will not be specifically questioned for the story of Goodwin.
There is no doubt that Danielson is benevolent. There is no doubt that he tries to be a good coach and a good mentor.
But he is also a state actor. He is the best paid employee of Aidah State University. He must not cross the lines for him. The expressing of faith as important to their lives and decisions is one thing; TV interviews are treated as if it were a sermon, and the official position of the Boise State football program is another.
And Danielson has considerable personal power against the future of his players. He decides when and whether they will play, what will start, and – with colleges now teaching players – he can also be responsible for how they are compensated. He is something very much like his boss.
He should understand that by saying things like: “It will be based on giving Jesus’ glory. … If people don’t like it, don’t come here.”
It may mean that some very good, great and talented teens may think they are not welcome in Bois, if they do not want to give Christ’s glory.
The editorial staff of Statman is the opinion of the editorial board of the Aidah statesman. Board members are the opinion editor Scott Mintosh, an opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, Newsroom Editors Dana Holland and Jim Keyser, and community members Greg Lanting, Terri Schorzman and Garry Wenske.