COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A watchdog group says Clemson University and the University of South Carolina are imposing "personal religion on players by hiring Christian chaplains."
The Freedom From Religion Foundation released a report, titled "Pray to Play," earlier this week highlighting the relationships between college football and religion.
Their report explains how Clemson and USC, along with 13 other schools in college football, use religion often in the face of laws strictly calling for a separation between the two.
The report singles out South Carolina's use of a chaplain, identified as Adrian Despres, and says Despres has been paid a total of $18,000 since 2010 despite a university policy on chaplains that says the athletics department cannot pay for such services "provided and work performed in his or her capacity as chaplain."
The report says Clemson coach Dabo Swinney arranged for a chaplain to be paid $2,500 annually through a donor.
Swinney has been cited multiple times by the group for his religious practices with the team. Several years ago, a photo surfaced on social media showing wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins being baptized while surrounded by coaches and players. For his part, Swinney has said he will not change anything about the state of his program when it comes to religion.
FFRF says they've traced these practices back to two coaches in particular: former Florida State University coach Bobby Bowden and University of Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville.
The report goes even further, directly accusing Bowden of "predatory religious practices."
"Bobby Bowden abused his publicly funded position of power and authority over vulnerable young men—both players and coaches—to impose his personal religion on them," the report said.
As a result of their report, the FFRF says they're sending players on each of those teams mentioned in the report an "explanation of their rights as students at secular universities."
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