Hit and Ole Miss
April 11, 2017
As Ole Miss’s football coach, Hugh Freeze is used to being in headlines. But they’re usually about football. Thanks to the Freedom from Religion Foundation, that changed this week when the popular Rebels coach found himself at the center of a phony controversy over his Twitter account.
According to FFRF, social media is a faith-free zone for people in the public eye like Freeze. In a letter to the school, the Foundation complains about the coach’s tendency to post encouraging words from Scripture dare to invite followers to church. “Recently,” the group writes, “Freeze has tweeted statements such as, ‘Lead us by your truth and teach us 2day, for you are the God who saves us! All day long I put my hope in you. Ps 25:5 – be a blessing 2day’ and ‘Here’s the best news ever, your eternal standing with God doesn’t depend on your goodness, but on God’s unshakeable faithfulness’ via his Twitter handle @CoachHughFreeze. Though we respect Freeze’s right to tweet as a private citizen, he may not promote his personal religious beliefs while acting in his capacity as a University employee.”
The atheists are particularly annoyed that the Ole Miss athletic department streams his feed, arguing that it’s an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. “FFRF asks that the University of Mississippi take immediate action… Please inform us in writing of the steps taken to protect the right of conscience of the University’s minority religious and nonreligious students.” But Hugh Freeze – like every other coach in America — shouldn’t have to check their faith at the football field door. Liberty Institute’s Jeremy Dys was quick to point out that FFRF was “wrong on the law.” “… [O]ur universities ought to be places where inclusivity and diversity are promoted. The FFRF has resorted to bulling in an attempt to silence and censor Coach Freeze.”
He’s right. This is just another example of the Left’s intolerance, which demands that anyone who has a job in the public eye (and even those who don’t!) ignore the First Amendment rights granted to them by the Constitution. Unfortunately for extremists like these, “free exercise” doesn’t just apply to the four walls of the church. It applies to life — and that includes the workplace. The activists at FFRF will find that out for themselves if they ever decide to litigate. But I’m guessing that this threat, like the hundreds before it, is like most of their arguments: empty.
Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.