Now that outspoken Christian Deion Sanders is head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, advocacy groups are advising school administrators about his faith-based actions. Sanders, known as “Coach Prime“, talks often about his faith and leads players and staff in prayer.
That led to a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which says Sanders must “cease imposing religion.” The secular group wrote to CU officials in January, telling them that “school-sponsored proselytizing” is not constitutionally allowed.
In a response, CU Executive Vice Chancellor and COO Patrick O’Rourke says the university has met with Sanders “to provide guidance on the non-discrimination policies, including guidance on the boundaries in which players may and may not engage in religious expression.”
First Liberty Institute, an organization that defends religious freedoms, wrote to CU officials, providing its take on protected speech. Counsel Keisha Russell said FFRF’s advice is incorrect and warns university officials against engaging in “state-sponsored censorship of Coach Sanders’ private speech.”
In a letter to CU, Russell writes that Sanders “does not lose his constitutional right to free exercise of religion simply because he is an employee at CU,” adding, “First Amendment protections extend to both public employees and students.”