(12-23-2017 03:21 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  

(12-23-2017 01:38 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(12-23-2017 12:59 PM)CoastalAlum2011 Wrote:  

(12-23-2017 12:43 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(12-23-2017 12:11 PM)CoachWillRob Wrote:  You're right!!! We should force them into believing something different then what they believe! They don't have the freedom to make any decisions that express their beliefs. How dare they make a political stand that's faith based. They're committing the ultimate political correctness sin, and since someone has made us the moral authority, we should do everything in our power to put down, bully, protest, and intimidate these people till they become tolerant of what I say they should be tolerant of. It's time we take control and not allow ANY of these opposing beliefs in our society!!!

Oh, and Merry Christmas! :)

There's a HUGE difference between someone having offensive beliefs like "Gays and Jews shouldn't have equal access to employment and scholarship opportunities" and having taxpayer funded programs helping programs that further that agenda.

How much does your football program take from the taxpayers and students? How many scholarships have you ever provided to LGBT people from that pool of money? How many coaching jobs have been paid from that?

I do truly hate Liberty but for different reasons than most. I'm a born again Christian. I believe Jesus was the son of God and I try my best to live my life according to His example though I often fail. I only share that about myself because I think it makes my perspective more transparent.

I hate Liberty because I believe their hypocrisy paints a picture of christianity that's a false one and leads people away from the truth. The most recent glaring example of this is their love affair with Donald Trump. Liberty is Christian in name only. They're a republican university, not a Christian one.

So, now that you know my general feelings towards Liberty, you can see that I share some of your disdain for the "school" albeit for different reasons.

Now that my bias is shown in full disclosure above, as for the bolded part in your post, I would simply ask you how any of us could ever possibly answer that? There is no sexuality questionnaire filled out before receiving an athletic scholarship. If there were, I'm positive we would hear your outrage over that as well.

For all I know, half of the Coastal football team is gay. And I don't care. As long as they perform on the field and stay out of trouble, which is what they were given a scholarship to do, then as an alumnus and donor, I am happy.

I understand your perspective. But I don't think you really have looked at the numbers.

I argue that the fact that your school has never had an OPENLY gay recipient of any athletic scholarship at your school, or has never had an openly LGBT coach cannot be discounted as mere coincidence. The fact that NONE of our schools have is strong evidence of extreme structural discrimination. How many football scholarships have our institutions collectively offered? 50,000? Its simply not credible to argue that there isn't massive discrimination if exactly zero of those scholarships, virtually all of which are subsidized by the students and/or the taxpayers through non-voluntary payments, is simply coincidental. In the entire history of FBS, there has been exactly one player in the history of the entire sport that has played so much as one friggin' down as an openly LGBT player.

We know the biggest reason why... Muscular "Christianity". To get playing time in many places, you have to put up with overt preaching from anti-LGBT groups. Being part of the team is being part of the FCA in many places. Want personal time with the coach? You can meet with him on Wednesday night. Want to be a coach in HS? Better get recommended by your FCA colleagues. If you aren't at least open to being a "Muscular Christian", you find out that you're not welcome soon enough. And you just don't play football.

And even if a Gay player makes it to college, how will he fare? Will his team have the toxic influence of the FCA (or AIA) making overt testimonial calls part of being a team player? Will they have spiritual advisors who poison the minds of the other players to be provided with extra access to the team by the coaches?

There's a reason the evangelicals don't start up a "Fellowship of Christian Chess Players". Its because chess players aren't perceived to be cool. They want people to use our programs to drive people to their anti-LGBT agenda of "Muscular Christianity".

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You personally might not care if a player is Gay, but Liberty University and the FCA/AIA people certainly do. And endorsing them is endorsing that discrimination and exclusion.

And its not revenue neutral. We, the non-Muscular Christians, are paying a significant portion of the bill for this. We are being harmed by this exclusion. Does Coastal Carolina pay a full time staff to help promote your LGBT group the same amount as your football coach? Of course they don't.

Basically, we are being shut out of opportunities that we are paying for. And its millions of dollars, every year, at every one of our institutions.

Scheduling Liberty is another way for our programs to marginalize us. Because it validates what they, and their ilk do as acceptable. Especially if our schools are not doing much (if anything) to offset that.

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There are concrete things that all of our institutions can do to lessen marginalization of LGBT athletes. Maybe the best solution to all of this is to simply end the student fee/taxpayer subsidy and make the football programs stand on their own two feet.

This whole entire post says everything we needed to know about you.

You keep bringing up that there's been no LGBT coach or player at any of the Sun Belt schools... do you desire for them to shout out and make their presence known? What if our athletic teams do have LGBT players and their orientation is well-known around campus? Would you rather they make a big deal about it or treat their orientation like it's normalcy?

You need to get over it dude.

Again, its really simple, stop taking our dollars to further discrimination. Get rid of the student fee and taxpayer subsidy or at least attempt to make it accessible to LGBT athletes and coaches. And if you've never had so much as one LGBT player or coach ever feel not scared of the reprecussions enough to dare to live honestly....ask yourself why? 0 out of 50,000 isn't a coincidence.

Very few LGBT people that are comfortable with their surroundings elect to stay in the closet. Why live a lie if you don't have to? Its not normal to hide who you date from everyone on your football team. Its not normal to hide about where you go out on the weekend? Its not normal to lie about who you are.

If its 'not a big deal' like y'all say, then why is it that there has never, ever, been anyone not too scared to come out of the closet? You don't see numbers like 0 of 50,000 anywhere else in society. And we know that there are closeted people in your programs. And when they eventually come out, they all have the same story....they were scared to come out.

Having your AD openly affirm discrimination against LGBT athletes and students as something that 'isn't a big deal' is not a way to engender support of your LGBT athletes.

By the way there are religious groups that advocate racial discrimination. Would any of your teams schedule a team that excluded Black people from participation in athletics or coaching? Why are flat out bans on LGBT participation by Liberty somehow acceptable, but other types of discrimination, even if based upon the discriminator's religious beliefs any less so?