The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national organization focused on the separation of church and state, has requested Auburn University to "abolish the chaplaincy" working inside the athletics department. The FFRF filed a letter to university president Jay Gogue Tuesday, Aug. 18, detailing its request and calling the chaplain's presence unconstitutional.
The letter concerns Rev. Chette Williams and states that his presence within the football program fails to "properly protect your student athletes' rights of conscience and pose(s) a high degree risk of discrimination" for those who fall outside of certain religious groups.
The organization has sent similar letters in recent years to universities across the South, including Clemson, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Mississippi State.
"No student athlete should be baptized as part of a public university sports program or be put in a position of feeling they have to pray to play," FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. "We find the lack of sunlight at Auburn disturbing."
Auburn released a statement Thursday, Aug. 20, in response to the letter:
"Chaplains are common in many public institutions, including the US Congress. The football team chaplain isn't an Auburn employee, and participation in activities he leads are voluntary."
According to Andrew Seidel, staff attorney for the FFRF, the voluntary activities are not the problem.
"If the team wants to worship, they want to get together on their own and have their own organized worship, that's totally fine," Seidel said, according to al.com. "We don't have any problem with that. We don't have any problem with them praying in whatever way they see fit, what we have a problem with is the top-down imposition of religion."
Williams, who played for the Tigers from 1982-1984, was appointed chaplain by coach Tommy Tuberville in the fall of 1999. He is the campus director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the group reportedly pays his salary.
Because Auburn does not pay his salary, the university does not consider him a school employee.
"It makes no difference if the chaplain is unofficial, not school-sponsored or a volunteer, because chaplains are given access to the team as a means for coaches to impose religion, usually Christianity, on their players," the organization stated in its letter. "Under the circumstances, the chaplain's actions are attributable to the university, and those actions are unconstitutional."
The Madison, Wisconsin, based organization operates "to promote the constitutional separation between state and church to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism."
The FFRF claims Auburn "refused to provide any records" and "ceased all contact" with the organization on April 10.
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