Shortly after losing in the national championship football game, Nebraska assistant coach Ron Brown applied for the head coaching position at Stanford University. To make a long story short, he didn't get the job.
To make a short story long, Brown claims he wasn't hired because of his religion. Brown is not making a guess here. He says he was told by the university that his Christian beliefs would conflict with the beliefs of Stanford's liberal student body.
"(His religion) was definitely something that had to be considered," said Alan Glenn, Stanford's assistant athletic director of human resources. "We're a very diverse community with a diverse alumni. Anything that would stand out that much is something that has to be looked at."
The Lincoln Daily Nebraskan uncovered this story on April 11. The next day they received two letters from Stanford University saying that Brown not being hired had nothing to do with religion. Glenn sent a letter saying his quote was taken out of context. The Nebraskan printed a note next to the letters that said the publication stood by its story.
So, who are we to believe? As a journalist, I believe Brown simply because he never changed his story. When someone is quoted, it is exactly what they said. When he or she sees it in the paper the next day, sometimes he or she realizes it was a dumb thing to say, but the fact remains that it was said.
This brings up a big debate. How can a university like Stanford, which prides itself in its diverse campus, refrain from hiring someone because they wouldn't fit in?
This is the college that changed its mascot from the Stanford Indians to the Stanford Cardinal in the early '70s for political correctness. And just this week, Stanford students started a drive against Abercrombie and Fitch for T-shirts that degraded Asian-Americans.
Now this same University is saying a Christian football coach cannot be on their payroll? That makes a lot of dollars, but no sense.
The students seems even more outspoken than the faculty.
"Wow, it would be really hard for him here," said Courtney Wooten, a sophomore sociology and studio art major and social director of Stanford's Queer Straight Social and Political Alliance. "He would be poorly received by the student body in general."
Julie Fitzgerald, the financial officer of the same political alliance called Stanford "a queer-friendly campus" with several gay players on the football team.
Yes, Christianity often speaks out against homosexuality, but while the Christian religion doesn't necessarily agree with homosexually, it is (in most cases) acceptant and tolerant.
I would figure that the gay community - having known what it is like to be rejected - would feel the same way toward Christianity.
Brown, a black man, said he was hurt because they told him his religious devotion was the basis of his not being hired.
"If I'd been discriminated against for being black, they would've never told me that," Brown said. "They had no problem telling me it was because of my Christian beliefs. That's amazing to me."
But Brown says he will stay strong in his religious conviction, even if it means more lost opportunities.
"If I want to interview for a head-coaching job, should I erase (my religious beliefs) off my resume? Every day, there's the temptation," he said. "But no, this world's not worthy. ... This thing about following Jesus Christ isn't flag football. It's for real. Let it go. You can't straddle the line."
Write to Jay at jdkenworthy@bsu.edu
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