Another American football coach has landed in hot water after he was caught praying to Jesus in the locker room.
West Point football coach Jeff Monken, who prayed postgame at the U.S. military academy locker room, was censured by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), which accused him of violating the First Amendment right of certain cadets, according to CBN.
"This was a clear violation of the First Amendment," said MRFF President Mikey Weinstein, adding that as a "state actor," Monken has no right to endorse any specific religion. "Leadership has confirmed to me he is going to apologise toward the team," he added.
In a separate interview with the Star Tribune, Weinstein said Monken chose the wrong time, place and manner to pray. "He can't tell anybody, put your hand on someone and let's pray. You can't do it, particularly when you're the head coach [of a public school]," he said.
Meanwhile, West Point spokesperson Lt. Col. Christopher Kasher said in a statement that officials will be conducting an investigation on the allegation.
The video showing Menken praying, which was posted on social media, has already been removed. Before it was taken out, the video had received over 232,000 views and 2,000 Facebook shares.
Weinstein said after the video was posted, he was "inundated" with phone calls, texts and emails from 44 West Point graduates, 40 members of the academy faculty and staff, and six football players. He said this prompted him to call West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
"We assume that there's going to be an apology from the coach to the team," Weinstein said. "We are assuming there's an admission there was a misstep."
In December last year, football coach Joseph Kennedy was ordered by the Bremerton High School in Washington State to stop his seven-year practice of praying at the 50-yard line after every game. Because he refused to do so, Kennedy ended up being fired. Last month, Liberty Institute filed a lawsuit on his behalf against the school district, contending that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was fired for refusing to stop praying at the 50-yard line after each game.
