Mark Heaton, head coach and athletic director, and team Chaplain Tanner Hall posted about the baptisms on social media.



"Three baptized after practice Thursday... Building the Kingdom!" Hall said. "Man I love that God allows me to do what I do! Baptized players today after practice!"



FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel said it is illegal for a public school to "organize, sponsor, or lead religious activity."



"Such sponsorship of religion is especially problematic in the context of athletics, given the pressure players feel to conform to what coaches expect of them so as not to affect their playing time or lose favor with the coaches," Seidel said.



He also said it is inappropriate to a public school to offer religious leaders access to befriend students.



FFRF is asking Russellville City Schools to remove the position of team chaplain. They also addressed religious content on teachers' personal online pages and said it was inappropriate.



FFRF Staff Attorney, Sam Grover, said that it is inappropriate for any school to endorse religion.



"It's inappropriate for any public school, as a representative of the government, to endorse religion over non-religion." said Grover. "Or in this case, Christianity over all other faiths."



Coach Heaton said that Tanner Hall is not an employed Chaplin, let alone carrying the title of Chaplin. Heaton also said that the baptism was after practice, it wasn't mandatory, and was put on by students.



The FFRF said athletes may feel pressured to participate in the religious activities in fear of losing playing time.



"You know on Friday night, when there is 11 kids on the football field, the best 11 are going to play." said Heaton.



The District's Superintendent, Rex Mayfield, was not pleased when he found out about the baptism, not because of the religious aspect, but because the event wasn't first approved through the proper channels.



"If you wanted to use our facilities, you would have asked to use those and provide insurance." said Mayfield.



Coach Heaton said he was proud of the student's public statement.



"I am so proud of the decision that they made to make a public statement the way that they did in front of their teammates." said Heaton. "It is a hard thing for teenagers to do these days."



Coach Heaton said his football team has gone through a number of tragedies this year, from a player being hospitalized to family members passing away. He said those events have brought his team closer together.



Sam Grover, Staff Attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, says some teacher's web pages contained bible verses and other faith references deemed to be inappropriate for a school setting.



"Teachers are free to practice their personal religious beliefs privately on their own time but while they are acting in their official capacity as representatives of the school district they need to remain neutral towards religion and that includes when they post things on their biography section on the school district's official web page," Grover said.



Superintendent Rex Mayfield has since reviewed the online biography pages noting their concerns.



"We've asked our teachers on their school web page to edit their messages of faith if they have one and maybe not talk about things of faith but other personal things they can tell about themselves, even where they go to church would be fine," Mayfield said.



Mayfield says it's disappointing to receive a letter accusing his district of endorsing religion.



"I don't think there's an educator here that doesn't love the children and work hard and want the best for the children they mau express that in a way that may not be appropriate to this foundation but as a whole I think our community totally supports what they do and how hard they work," he said.



The Freedom From Religion Foundation maintains they're not an anti-religious group.



"We're really just about making sure that public entities like the school district are not endorsing religion," said Grover. "It's the right of every parent to teach their kids whatever religion they wish and to bring up their children in religion or not in religion and the school district should not play a role in that."



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