Three Portland State transfers suing NMSU

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:31 pm

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/f ... index.html

Rather interesting. Hope it doesn't become too big a distraction as the season wears on--we've taken some unusual transfers in this conference this year.

bozbobcat · Post by **bozbobcat** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:33 pm

This is going to get really ugly. These three gentlemen have a very convincing reason to sue, and they'll probably win.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:39 pm

Maybe the coach should be coaching at a private religious school instead of at a public school. Then he could co-mingle religion and the pursuits of the school as much as he wants ... and he could even discriminate against Muslims if he wanted. That would work out much better for everyone.

I hope these guys get treated much better at PSU than they were allegedly treated at NMSU.

PapaG · Post by **PapaG** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:33 pm

"Universities are supposed to be places of evolved thinking and reason, not of base intolerance and bigotry" said Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU New Mexico.

That one made me chuckle. When I was at MSU the meme seemed to be toe the PC line/liberal philosophy in the Sociology department or watch your grades sink.

As for the rest, it sounds like the players have a case. If Mumme did dismiss them due to their faith, he deserves to be fired and the players do deserve some sort of compensation.

LTown Cat · Post by **LTown Cat** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:42 pm

PapaG wrote:"Universities are supposed to be places of evolved thinking and reason, not of base intolerance and bigotry" said Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU New Mexico.

That one made me chuckle. When I was at MSU the meme seemed to be toe the PC line/liberal philosophy in the Sociology department or watch your grades sink.

As for the rest, it sounds like the players have a case. If Mumme did dismiss them due to their faith, he deserves to be fired and the players do deserve some sort of compensation.

I know the laws/courts will put up with a lot in higher education in terms of discussion, learning, demonstrating, creating clubs, etc. But, your exactly right. This went too far and he should be fired and the kids compensated.

grizbeer · Post by **grizbeer** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:12 am

I don't know anything about this case, but it might be worth waiting for all the facts to come out before passing judgement - it might be that the players were troublemakers, and the fact that they were Muslim might not be the reason they were dismissed - remember we have only heard the players version, not the coaches.

As far as the questions about Al Qaeda, it really depends on the context in which the questions were asked. I don't think asking a Muslim about Al Qaeda is automatically discrimination, any more than asking a Catholic how he feels about the priest molestation scandal would be, for example.

With respect to reciting the Lords Prayer, that might be shaky ground, it depends on if he required players to recite it. If players were disciplined for not reciting it that would certainly be a problem, but it is not unusual for players and coaches to pray before and after a game - it is a violent game where sever injuries occur, including career ending and death occasionally. Most teams have a team chaplain to lead the team in prayer before games (see Bobby Hauck controversy for replacing Rev. Jim Hogan in Missoula).

Now obviously if they were released simply because they were Muslim, and were forced or coerced to change religions that is wrong and the U should be punished, but I think we should at least consider the possibility that the story might not be exactly as the students have told it (although it might be just as they told it).

For perspective last night a pitcher for the Mariners was hit in the head by a line drive - obviously a very serious injury. Mike Hargrove led the team in prayer after the 8th inning, and again after the game. The M's have players from several countries, and certainly all of them are not Christian, but given what happened I doubt any of the non-christian players on the team felt uncomfortable with the manager leading the team in prayer.

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:02 am

I really didn't intend for this to become a religous item but just thought it was rather interesting we as a conference have taken some quite controversial players on this year.

I know in a Southern state I used to teach and coach in, we had chaplains lead our kids through prayers before and after all high school games. Those who opted not to participate were simply left alone. I don't choose to discuss religion one way or the other with anyone other than my preacher or those of the same faith. Just as many fanatics drive me crazy so do the agnostics or aethists. I know what I believe and let it go at that.

The Beaver Tail Whap · Post by **The Beaver Tail Whap** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:46 pm

[/quote) I don't choose to discuss religion one way or the other with anyone other than my preacher or those of the same faith. Just as many fanatics drive me crazy so do the agnostics or aethists. I know what I believe and let it go at that.[/quote]

I could not have said that any better if I had tried...

Good analogy of what I term.... "My Balance"

WalkOn79 · Post by **WalkOn79** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:18 pm

Check out the pics of the NFL cheerleaders on the same site!!

Much more interesting