God Gesture Disqualifies Team From State Championships (VIDEO)
A Houston-area track team was disqualified from competing at state finals after officials labeled one runner’s God gesture ‘excessive celebration.’
A small act of faith disqualified a Texas high school track team from advancing to the state championships. Despite finishing first in a relay race at their school track meet last weekend in Columbus, Texas, the Columbus High School Mighty Cardinals were revoked of their win and disqualified from the next competition after the anchor runner touched his ear and pointed to the sky.
Runner Derrick Hayes made that gesture as he crossed the finish line in the 4 x 100-meter relay, local news channel KHOU 11 News reports. Hayes’ father, KC, said that he believed his son was giving thanks to God.
‘You cross a finish line and you’ve accomplished a goal and within seconds it’s gone,’ KC Hayes told KHOU 11. ‘To see four kids, you know, what does that tell them about the rest of their lives? You’re going to do what’s right, work extra hard, and have it ripped away from you?’
Columbus ISD Superintendent Robert O’Connor said the team had won the race by seven yards and that it was their fastest race of the year, but according to state rules the decision cannot be appealed. Now, some of the residents in Columbus are blaming the school of infringing on the runner’s freedom of religious expression.
State scholastic rules prohibit excessive celebrations, including raising one’s hands, according to runnersworld.com.
Those rules are the reason for the disqualification, the judges say.
VIDEO
This happened in religious-crazy Texas?!? Wow…I’m stunned. I’m an Atheist myself, but, I dunno about calling that “excessive celebration”…I still can’t get over the fact that this happened in TEXAS….
This has to be the stupidest “state scholastic rule” I have ever heard. Who decides what is “excessive celebration?” Why is it even prohibited? Here these kids are doing good things with their lives, and a dumb rule that makes no sense is going to take it all the way? The person or persons who enacted this rule should be fired and held to this type of punishment. Furthermore, this is completely infringing on these kids right to freedom of religion and expression. I could understand it if he did something vulgar, but all he did was touch his ear and raise his hand. This type of thing makes me so angry and completely dumbfounded how laws and rules can prohibit and punish a person’s innocent gesture.
You’ve have got to be kidding. If it was a vulgar gesture Yes. But this is insanity and P.C. and school or sports regulations going to far. I hope they appeal and win. To strip them of a win for the touching of a ear lope and pointing upward is beyond absurd. Good Luck track guys. You’ve got my absolute vote to take this to court.
Good for the school! What part of separation of church from state does this track team not realize. I do not want my tax dollars being spent on any religious sign, symbol or celebration. School is for learning, so keep your fictitious religion at home where it belongs!
Leaders in all areas lack the ability to use common sense. These idiots lack the intestinal fortitude to question the stupid rules, and stand against immoral ones. Celebrating a victory is wrong, but making middles school girls in NY ask another female girl to kiss her as some kind of anti bulling presentation is acceptable. The bottom line is the judge is a moron. To race with everything you have, win, and raise your hand in victory is excessive?
it looks like, to me, he was showing theyre number one.
@Chris- you didn’t leave YOUR expression at home…why should these young men have to? What you’ve just said is that if an expression agrees with YOUR world view it’s okay in the public forum. If not, it belongs at home. Sorry, dude (or dudette as the case may be) but you’re off the reservation on this one.
Oh, so it’s ok to cuss in public, say bad words, use the f-word but it’s not ok to thank God? What is wrong with this world? It’s a disgrace with all the wrong doings in this country! May God have mercy on this country.
Amen to that. It’s a sprint contest where the victor is declared in hundreth of a second. Judging on a subjective expression is inconsistent with track and field. If you want subjective judging go to gymnastics or diving. This is no more taunting than to award medals to those who win. Peace
What a joke! This is one of the most stupidest things I have heard of. I cannot even begin to think of the number of times I have seen a football player,high school, make a touchdown and then kneel and bow his head. Nothing was done for that, and nothing should be done. They is nothing in the Constitution that says a student cannot prey in school if he/she wants too. Read the Constitution people.
That is pathetic!!!!! This country was built In God We Trust. If this country does not turn around and let Freedom Ring, then this country is headed for doom!!!!!
Response to Chris’s comment: It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt! I challenge everyone who reads this post to find the separation of church and state in all of the founding documents that our forefathers wrote.
READ what THEY wrote, not what some jackass teacher poisoned your head with from “State” run schools. The first amendment is clear: CONGRESS shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, OR the prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; Or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The prohibition is on CONGRESS, to make no law establishing a religion, nor to prohibit the free exercise thereof.
Now read the Tenth amendment, and understand the order of powers when they are not specifically delegated: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. If you don’t know the Constitution because you weren’t taught it in school, try living up to the title of American Citizen, get a copy and read it, then get involved educating others.
Outrageous….never shouldve been allowed to happen.If i was that kid,i wouldve given a good ass whipping to the jack hole that made the decision right then and there.
hey chris,who are YOU that you should say someones belief is fictitious? who told u it was fictitious? you know this for sure? wow cuz i never heard of any proof of this one way or the other from the news,school or people.Its just a stinkin opinion,thats what youre left with.
This chain of comments and reactions just shows how unchristian “christians” are. If you can voice your opinion then why can’t Chris? He’s the only one making sense, he isn’t the one worshiping a book someone wrote while hallucinating. Common sense people! If you are going to call yourself a christian then start acting like one… apparently YOU think it’s real, so live by it.
I think anyone should have the freedom to celebrate in any religion. Just think even though America is freedom of religion just think of how offended Christians would be if it was a Muslim or Satanist who celebrated with their beliefs. I for one am not in those beliefs but the offended Christians are hypocrites . Freedom of religion yeah right only for Christians and Jews
My given name is Chris, but here I am ashamed to use it because of an earlier poster, so I am using my internet name
The last paragraph of the article states the state rules prohibit the raising of arms(hands) in celebration I believe this is a rule for track meets, not clear to me if it is all interscholastic sports
Has anyone ever seen a track sprint, or most races, where the finish line is a tape strung across the track about chest high…..don’t most winners cross the finish line, and break said tape, by leaning into the tape with arms up…does this disqualify the runner?…..pretty lame rule with selective enforcement….these kids got screwed no matter how one looks at this
Instead of nurturing and encouraging a young man who has a God given talent and gives the glory back to Him, the ruling body punishes him and takes away his and his team’s joy of accomplishing something great. Shame on them! I hope and pray that something can be done to overturn this ridiculous ruling.
They should do their act of faith PRIVATELY.
To do this in public is totally misplaced.
You as a school board or a superintendant, have no right to take away ayoung mans right to worship his Creator. God gave us the right. This is so wrong in so many ways. First, they should get their win back. They trained and worked for it. They did not celebrate in a way to belittle the other teams. They were not even celebrating, he was in a moment thanking his God for giving him the ability to complete what he trained for. Second, the powers that be in this country are trying to tke away our right to worship and not just to worship but to worship Jesus Christ. They don’t care if its a rock we pray to or mother earth. Just don’t mention the name of Jesus. Christians, wise up and stand up for Christ. I grew up in the fifties and we were told about communist countries and the fact that they had to go underground to learn about Jesus and the could not have Bibles. We were as Christian children appalled. And now it is happening in our own country and again I am appalled. Stand up to the polititions and anyone else who says we cannot worship Jesus. This country is in worse shape than I knew before I read this article.
In WA, a man can marry a man, and you can smoke pot – But how dare you reference God… Liberal bliss
@Chris, There is a separation between church and state, but there is also the free exercise clause that allows Americans to worship whatever they feel like. The kid wasn’t shaping public policy by celebrating a high school track victory…
As a soldier we swore to uphold the constitution. Then many of us died trying to uphold that & spread those freedoms to others. What good are we if we’re not upholding that here? Recently I spoke up about asheville cops saleing drugs. Even thou the fbi has now stepped in & charged atleast 1 of them the false charge they came after me with is still harming me. When I spoke out (1st admendment) on facebook about it buncombe sheriffs knocked on my door saying mom was in the hospital. She wasnt & when I opened the door 4 officers proceeded to beat, taz, and kick me in the back of the head. Ladies & gentlemen we have to stand up against these things. Other wise when your kid expresses having a religious belief after all thier hard work and efforts they will unlawfully strip them of thier efforts for beleaving they have freedom of religion or speech or are free. School law don’t exceed the Constitution!