Kentucky —

FFRF reminded the Logan County Schools system in Russellville, Ky., that student athletes must not be coerced into religious “team building” exercises.

FFRF learned that the Logan County High School’s boys baseball program was permitting a Fellowship of Christian Athletes “character coach” to deliver religious talks to the baseball team every Wednesday during official team activities. While the FCA claims that character coaches teach “values” and not religion, the values the character coaches preach are based in evangelical Christianity, and FCA is an explicitly religious organization. The official Logan County Cougar Baseball Facebook account additionally posted a screenshot depicting the FCA representative presenting to the baseball team on what appeared to be school property.

“Any claims that students aren’t pressured to participate in the character coach talks are naive at best, and the FCA’s own website states coaches can require student-athletes to participate in character coach activities,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.

After receiving FFRF’s letter, the district sought legal counsel from English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley LLP to review the situation. Attorney Michael A. Owsley reported that the character coach was present to facilitate player-initiated and player-led discussions and team building exercises, but failure to be present and participate in the pre-practice team-building exercises did not result in punitive measures against players. However, due to FFRF’s concern, Owsley reminded the district’s baseball coach and athletic director that these pre-practice team building and character coaching sessions must remain entirely secular and voluntary for baseball players to attend. “It is never the intention of anyone in the district to promote one religion over the other,” Owsley wrote. “The district encourages and wishes all of its students feel valued and free to express his or her own beliefs, and to reach those beliefs on their own.”

The post FFRF reminded a Kentucky school system that student athletes must not be coerced into religious “team building” exercises. (September 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.