Portland State University (PSU) football player Vincent Johnson has been reinstated after a long-running dispute with his coach over missing practices.
Some of the services at Johnson's church conflict with the team's scheduled practices, and Johnson felt pressured to choose between the two activities.
"He [the coach] asked me to choose between church and football," Johnson told KPTV. "I said, 'Coach, you can't ask me to do that. It's like asking me to choose between God and football.'"
Johnson attends World Mission Society Church of God in Milwaukie, and is also on an athletic scholarship at PSU. He said that his two interests do not have to be mutually exclusive.
"There's a lot of people that miss practice due to if they have academics or anything like that, so it could have been arranged," he said.
"I just really want to play."
The student-athlete had not played since the spring, after his coach only approved some of his absences from practice. Johnson filed a complaint with the school and his reinstatement comes after they completed an investigation into his claim.
PSU Communications Director Scott Gallagher said that Johnson was not in danger of being kicked out of school.
"We reported it to our global diversity and inclusion office and immediately began an investigation," Gallagher said. "In the meantime, we've made the student aware that their tuition and their scholarship is safe and secure."
Johnson was grateful for that.
"That was a blessing right there," he stated. "I just want to finish my college career."
OregonLive reports that PSU has decided to reinstate Johnson but withheld the reasons for doing so.
"I can't talk about the details of the investigation," Gallagher told the website.
