ESPN Columnist Agitates for Coach's Firing for Proclaiming His Religious Beliefs
ESPN columnist Gene Wojciechowski wouldn't mind seeing Nebraska Cornhuskers assistant coach Ron Brown sacked, but for a reason that has nothing to do with his performance coaching from the sidelines and everything to do with Brown's religious faith.
In his April 27 column, Wojciechowski managed both to demonize and misrepresent Brown's religious convictions on homosexuality, by saying that Brown believes God "loves gays less than women or African-Americans" [h/t Creative Minority Report]:
[W]hat if there were a gay player on the Nebraska roster? Or what if one of the players Brown is trying to recruit this week is gay, or has a family member or friend who is gay?
These are not unreasonable scenarios. Would you want to play for a coach who thinks God loves gays less than women or African-Americans? Would you want to play for a coach who preaches compassion and love, but is willing to turn his back on a fellow human being because of that person's sexual orientation?
Can Wojciechowski back up his claim that Brown thinks God doesn't love gays? Faithful Christians certainly believe God does love gays and wants what's best for them by calling them to repent of their homosexual behavior. To NOT lovingly challenge homosexuality -- or any unrepentant sin -- is hateful, not loving, according to Christian doctrine.
For good measure, the ESPN columnist even cited an innocuous voicemail greeting on Brown's office line as a demerit against Brown (emphasis mine)
...Brown isn't an ordinary citizen. He is a coach at a public university and for a revered football program whose reach stretches from Omaha to Scottsbluff. When he speaks, his words carry more power because of his association with Nebraska football.
It was no accident that when Brown spoke to the Omaha City Council he listed his address as Nebraska's Memorial Stadium. And there is no separation of church and state on Brown's Nebraska football office voice message:
"I praise the Lord Jesus Christ for today. I hope you're having a blessed day. Not able to answer my phone right now. Give me a try back and Lord willing, I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Have a great day."
"To be fired for my faith would be a greater honor than to be fired because we didn't win enough games," Wojciechowski quoted Brown from an earlier AP story.
"So Brown would be a willing martyr," Wojciechowski argued, "And if he continues to confuse faith with a person's fundamental right not to be discriminated against, then Perlman and Osborne should fire him."
Unmentioned by Wojciechowski, but of interest to readers, is that liberal activists have been persecuting Brown for quite some time. From an April 26 ESPN.com article:
Advocacy groups called for Brown's firing after he condemned homosexuality on a Christian radio show in 1999, and the American Civil Liberties Union has threatened legal action against Nebraska public schools that require students to attend Brown's Bible-fueled motivational talks.
Photo of Wojciechowski via his profile page at ESPNmediazone3.com.
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Comments
OK, so here's the set-up:
Submitted by balboa on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 5:08pm.
OK, so here's the set-up: It's OK for a church to fire a woman for having IVF. Shouldn't it also be OK to then fire Brown for what he has said?
I have a better idea. Let's
Submitted by rockyracoon on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 5:15pm.
I have a better idea. Let's fire everyone who isn't liberal and toes the progressive line of thought.
Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.
Ah -no
Submitted by katiejane on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 6:29pm.
having IVF was an action in violation of the beliefs of the Church which employed her. Brown didn't DO anything to violate the rules of his employer.
You've confused balboa. You
Submitted by texastommy on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:09am.
You've confused balboa. You used rational thought. Liberals, communitsts, and socialists (sorry, a little redundant) simply can't reason. They have a mental disease that prevents them from using higher order brain functions. Too bad.
Doing vrs saying.
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 1:49pm.
I guess you don't understand the difference between doing something and saying something. The lady in question didn't get fired for saying something, she got fired for doing something.
In cause you're confused about how it works: I can say I will paint the garage every day, but it still won't be painted until I do something, like actually apply paint to the garage.
You see, talk is cheap, it's actions that count. What actions has this coach done to warrant firing him? Has he refused to coach a gay player?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
I understand the action v.
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:50pm.
I understand the action v. talk argument. But the "paint the garage" premise doesn't really work. He was stating a belief.
Should he not state his belief, then?
Submitted by Mike Bratton on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 5:55pm.
Would it be all right if he "stayed on the porch"?
Knew to be "seen and not heard"?
Kept it "inside the walls" of his church?
What's the problem--is he being too "uppity"?
Ah, it's fine for an atheist professor to inflict his bilious beliefs on students, but a Christian shouldn't say a blessed... sorry, a darn thing about his faith, is that it?
--Mike
Not while he's representing
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:34pm.
Not while he's representing the university of Nebraska and their athletic department.
Free speech is no longer allowed
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:41pm.
if it's not approved?
Not if you're representing
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 9:49pm.
Not if you're representing your employer while doing it.
Did he say these remarks
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 10:06pm.
during a football game?
No, but I believe he
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 10:45am.
No, but I believe he identified himself as an employee of the university.
Interesting, comrade.
Submitted by Mike Bratton on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 9:45am.
Unsupportable and un-Constitutional, but still interesting.
Were I a betting man, I'd wager you also think Christian young people can't talk about their faith in school. And that you have no problem with our current celebrity dictator waving about his faux-Christianity whilst taking a government salary. Accurate assessments?
--Mike
You don't think you can fire
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 10:43am.
You don't think you can fire someone for making statements that run contrary to the policies of the university?
The policies of the university include relinquishing rights?
Submitted by Mike Bratton on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 7:02pm.
How could that possibly be?
--Mike
Yes, if that makes things
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 8:31pm.
Yes, if that makes things easier for you...
No. And either keep to the issue or withdraw.
Submitted by Mike Bratton on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 7:56am.
You're only making your position more brittle and tenuous.
The coach has done nothing wrong, has harmed no one, and has expressed his beliefs in a clear and positive way. Would that the same could be said of liberals and atheists...
--Mike
The policies of an
Submitted by balboa on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 9:17am.
The policies of an organization can include being able to fire you if, as a representative of that group, you make a statement in contradiction with their values and policies.
He's done nothing of the sort.
Submitted by Mike Bratton on Sun, 05/06/2012 - 5:38pm.
Period.
What he has done is make statements that contradict a sacrament of the so-called "tolerant" class. Consequently, their representatives must express their outrage--or, in some cases, get their Olbermann on and insist someone be fired.
--Mike
When is he not representing
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 9:52pm.
Somtin?
Hey Gene, I hope you were and
Submitted by rockyracoon on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 5:13pm.
Hey Gene, I hope you were and are offended. The Constitution doesn't protect you from having your feelings hurt. So deal with it, and stick to writing about sports.
Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.
ESPN
Submitted by djwolf12 on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 5:30pm.
Remember, ESPN is now a progressive network. They allow a guttersnipe like Dave Zirin to go on, you guessed it, the show "Outside The Lines". Never forget: Kenny Mayne, an ESPN reporter, tweeted that he saw a McCain/Palin bimper sticker on another vehicle and tweeted that he wanted to ram that car with his. To this day, Kenny Mayne has not apologized for that and ESPN did not reprimand him.
Discriminate the Discriminate
Submitted by bradbenj5952 on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 5:36pm.
To liberal think, it's OK to discriminate on the basis of religion. Oh, that's not it. It's only when someone of faith has enough courage to reprove them of their pet sins. Yet they will die also...like those who slaughtered the lamb of God.
Uh-oh. Watch out black people.
Submitted by Servo1969 on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 5:45pm.
You're slowly being moved from the "Do Not Touch" list to the "Fair Game" list when it comes to disagreeing with homosexuals. Slowly but surely the minority heirarchy is being rewritten. The one set of "Christians" who had a little leeway to say what they thought were the "Black Christians". But now it seems the progressives are convinced that after so many generations of broken households and fatherless families you don't know how to survive without them. Seems they have decided they've got the "Blacks" locked in so good they can start telling you what you will and will not say, as well. So now "Gay" trumps "Black Christian". Soon "Gay" will outrank "Black" as well. Then "Illegal Aliens" will be higher on the scale of righteousness. But so what? They can already count on 98 out of 100 "Blacks" voting for Obama no matter what he says or does. So, they don't even have to care how many of you are out of work. I mean, what are you gonna do about it? Turn conservative? Please. You'll vote Dem for the rest of your life like a good little soldier as will everyone else in the "Black" community. You see, they've seen to it that you don't know any other way to think.
When did being offended become somethign to brag about?
Submitted by Lipton on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 5:57pm.
A generation ago, it made you a wimp. Can we bring that back please?
In a nutshell...I am going to
Submitted by Antisocial-ism on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 6:32pm.
In a nutshell...I am going to exercise my first amendment rights to condemn someone else for exercising their first amendment rights.
Hey Gene, Shove it...SIDEWAYS!!
Gene Wojciechowski's facebook likeability
Submitted by djwolf12 on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 6:42pm.
As a consolation prize to reading this Progressive bag of douche's ESPN bio, Please note that ONLY 9 PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK like this dude.
Once again, we're seeing that
Submitted by lpaulson42 on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:56pm.
Once again, we're seeing that the last refuge from liberalism (sports) is now being taken away from us.
"Play for a coach?"
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 1:41pm.
"Would you play for a coach..."
That's funny, I though they played for a University?
I don't think the "coach" gives a hoot about the sexual preference of the players he's coaching, their performance in the bedroom. I think he's far more concerned with their performance on the football field.
Be honest with us, liberals, do you really think a "gay" football player would TURN DOWN the chance to be on the team just because of what the coach said about his own personal beliefs? I don't think so!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Jerry Sandusky... now he was Wojciechowski's kind of coach.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 9:56am.
.