No separation of church and Lobos

by Riley Bauling

Daily Lobo

The American Civil Liberties Union is concerned UNM men's basketball head coach Ritchie McKay is using his job to spread religion to his players.

Peter Simonson, the executive director of New Mexico's ACLU, said McKay has crossed the line when it comes to separating his religion and his coaching.

"What coach McKay does in his personal life is no concern of ours," Simonson said. "The only thing we are concerned about is where religion becomes part of the coaching process, and the degree to where you are Christian determines how much playing time you will get, and whether you will be recruited in the first place."

McKay said the ALCU's charge is unfounded.

"It's disappointing that they would make that accusation," he said. "It's not something we're concerned about because we're not in any violation. I know all about the First Amendment, and my personal beliefs are mine. If people and players are attracted to them then that's just fine."

Simonson said he sent a letter to the University's interim legal counsel, Robert Bienstock, on Aug. 4 concerning McKay's use of religion in his coaching and recruiting methods after comments were made in the press by University of Kansas transfer J.R. Giddens and his mother, Dianna.

Simonson said UNM Athletics Director Rudy Davalos' response to the ACLU's letter wasn't adequate enough to rectify the ACLU's concerns. He said Davalos dismissed Simonson's concerns by saying Giddens and his mother merely misrepresented what the UNM basketball program was about in their comments to the press.

Simonson cited three separate articles written after Giddens' transfer to UNM that prompted the ACLU to write the letter to the University about watching McKay's use of religion more closely.

Giddens was quoted as saying in an article on ESPN.com that McKay spoke to him about developing as a person more than just as a player.

"McKay lives by the Lord and we talked a lot about that," Giddens said in the article.

In a separate article with the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, Giddens made comments about McKay helping him develop his relationship with God: "Basketball is important. It's more important to build a better relationship with the Lord. Coach McKay will help me with that."

Giddens' mother made a comment to the Journal-World that implied players need to attend church in order to play at UNM, Simonson said.

"He wants to get (Giddens) into church. It's mandatory to go to church," she said in the article.

McKay said he was unsure what Giddens' mother meant by the comments.

"I'm not sure why Ms. Giddens said that," McKay said. "Ms. Giddens is a great lady, but we have never spoken before. I don't want her to think that she got me in trouble, but I just think because of all her son has been through, she was trying to convey a message that we were interested in her son - that we were trying to mentor him."

Giddens transferred to UNM in June after his role in a May 19 bar fight in Lawrence, Kan., in which he suffered a severed artery in his right calf from a knife wound. He now faces charges of misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct in Kansas.

Davalos said he was "not going to waste (his) time with" the ACLU's charge.

"The ACLU has nothing to base their claims on," Davalos said. "They're just headline hunting. Our coaches and I know the separation of church and state. They do a great job as role models for our athletes in making them better players and better people."

Simonson said Davalos' headline-hunting charge was absurd.

"That's just ludicrous," Simonson said. "We are doing this because there is a basic principle at stake. It's a principle ensconced in the highest laws of our country. We don't get anything out of digging into an issue like this. We get nothing but abuse from people who see the basketball program in a more important light than the Constitution."

Simonson said the ACLU hasn't taken legal action against the University because no plaintiffs have come forward with complaints about McKay's coaching.

He said the ACLU's concern is that McKay is violating the constitutional rights of his players if he is using his authority as a coach to promote his religious beliefs.

"I know people find it kind of hard to see where we're coming from on this issue, but there's a fine line," Simonson said. "These reports suggest that he's crossing that line, and we are simply trying to correct that. We're not in any way trying to disparage him as a person."

McKay said he has yet to talk to anyone from the ACLU and never knew about the letter Simonson sent to the University.