Dabo Swinney and the Religious Football Team
The separation of church and state has been an evolution throughout the history of America’s culture and has probably been most affected through the way it is handled within the confines of public schools. It is clearly stated in the Constitution that no government organization may discourage a religion or promote one itself. That cannot be argued, but the interpretation of those clauses can be very different depending on who you ask. In 2014 the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FRFF) accused Dabo Swinney, the head football coach at Clemson University, of intertwining Christian teachings with his job at the public university. While Swinney’s Christian faith is undeniably a great portion of his character and how he runs his organization, at no point did Dabo Swinney infringe upon the rights of the kids under his tutelage or force his faith upon the students.
First, let’s look at what the difference would be between what is acceptable under the Constitution and what is not. The basic premise is that no government organization may side with one religious view over another. This has led to prayer not being allowed over intercoms at schools or guest speakers to address a student body, but it does not mean that a child may voluntarily pray themselves or with others during the school day. In Kent Greenawalt’s book, Does God Belong in Public Schools, when referring to the teaching of religion and science he lists five premises that must be addressed during this question, but the important point is the first one of the five which reads, “Schools should not teach the truth of religious propositions.” Greenawalt is stating here that religion can be taught but not as an absolute truth and just proposed as a possibility. A person associated with a government entity, like a public school, cannot say this religion is right and you must follow this. That being said, because of the culture of the USA it would be unwise to fully try to stamp out all influences of religion anywhere. Reema Khrais of UNC Chapel Hill states, “Although endorsement of religion is prohibited by…legal constraints, the importance of religion in the United States culture and history suggests that educators must not eliminate all integration of religion in the curricula” (Khrais).
These two points are what make Dabo’s actions with his kids constitutionally correct. Dabo in no way imposes or makes it mandatory for the football team to participate in Christian activities with the team. They are provided, on a volunteer basis, opportunities to pursue these ideas on their own if they would like to. According to an article on ESPN, the FRFF accused Swinney of multiple infringements of the Constitution including scheduling team devotionals and providing transportation to “Church Days.” A Clemson University spokesperson responded, “Participation in religious activities is purely voluntary, and there are no repercussions for students who decline to do so.” Dabo is also completely honest with who he is to everyone and has even gone on record saying,
Recruits and their families want — and deserve — to know who you are as a person, not just what kind of coach you are. I try to be a good example to others, and I work hard to live my life according to my faith.
Swinney is well within his right to say this to the people he is recruiting as it is important for them to realize what culture they will be spending the next3–5 years of their lives in. He is also within his legal parameters to provide the religious opportunities. The organized meetings do not take place during times when the players must be at a school function and are completely voluntary. The transportation to church is also voluntary for students and is just an offer from Swinney for those who may not be able to make it on their own. Tigernet.com published a response from Dabo Swinney directly addressing these accusations stating,
“Over the past week or two, there has been a lot of discussion of my faith. We have three rules in our program that everybody must follow: (1) players must go to class, (2) they must give a good effort and (3) they must be good citizens. It is as simple as that. ”
Again, there is no mention of a necessity to participate in prayer, church days, or any other religious activities with the team, and no player has come forth saying that they have felt pressured to do so. In fact many have voluntarily come to the team and to Dabo Swinney asking to take part in these sorts of activities.
In 2013, Deandre “Nuk” Hopkins requested to be baptized with his teammates surrounding him and they performed the baptism after practice. The student requested it. No other players were required to watch or participate. It was completely voluntary and well within the confines of the Constitution.
Dabo Swinney has always been a great coach at Clemson University and strived to build great people along the way. He has always worn his faith on his sleeve and is completely honest with who he is when he speaks with people. The FFRF was making complaints about a situation that did not affect them in any way and had no actual basis to found it on. Because all of the religious actions for the Clemson football team are voluntary and there are no repercussions for not participating, it is not a violation of the Constitution. In fact, forcing Dabo Swinney to cease his actions would in itself be a violation of the Constitution in regards to freedom OF religion.
Adelson, Andrea. “Group Files Complaint against Tigers.” ESPN.com. N.p., 17 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 June 2016.
Greenawalt, Kent. Does God Belong in Public Schools? Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2005. PDF.
Khrais, Reema. “Religion in Public Schools: Discerning the Needed Balance of Religion in Public Schools.” :: Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal. UNC Chapel Hill, 2006. Web. 02 June 2016
“Dabo Swinney Statement on FFRF Complaint — TigerNet.com.”TigerNet.com. N.p., 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 June 2016.
