Toledo coach Matt Campbell will not lead team in prayer after complaint

Toledo coach Matt Campbell said in a statement Friday that his players “will determine on their own any personal [pregame] preparation methods” in response to a complaint the school received regarding Campbell leading a team prayer in 2012.

According to the Toledo Blade, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to incoming Toledo president Sharon Gaberon on May 21 stating the university had committed a constitutional violation.

The letter cited a 2012 YouTube video shot by via GoPro by a Toledo player that showed Campbell leading the Lord’s Prayer prior to the rivalry game against Bowling Green.

The advocacy group stated in its letter that the prayer was “a serious and flagrant violation of the First Amendment.”

Campbell said in his statement that he had no intention of changing his values in repsponse to the letter, but that he would allow his player to choose their own preparation.

“To ensure UT football continues to bring people together, players will determine on their own any personal preparation methods to help them mentally prepare to play the game we love,” Campbell said in his statement.

Interim Toledo president Nagi Naganathan said in a separate statement Campbell had the full backing of the university.

This isn’t the first time the Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken issue with football coaches spreading their beliefs to their team. In April 2014, the group asked for a separation of football and religion at Clemson after alleging that coach Dabo Swinney had distributed Bibles and other religious materials to players, and had held Bible study and devotionals. The group claimed the promotion of Christianity by the football program violated the constitutional rights of the players.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit educational charity based in Madison, Wis., and claims to be the nation’s largest association of atheists and agnostics.

For more Toledo news, visit TheRocketNation.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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