Former IL State OC/QBs Coach Sues School

[SuperHornet]

Former IL State OC/QBs Coach Kurt Beathard has sued HC Brock Spack and former AD Larry Lyons for violation of free speech. Someone posted a BLM poster on his office door, and he removed it, replacing it with one reading "All Redbird Lives Matter." A few days later (in SEP), Beathard was pressured to resign. The official excuse for pushing him to leave were that Spack didn't like the direction of the passing game, but Beathard's attorney alleges that the real reason was that he did not toe the official line on BLM. I believe there was discussion of this when he was first pushed out, but the suit was just filed.

Beathard has previously coached at Pacific, James Madison, Towson State, and Sacramento of the UFL.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/bre ... story.html

[kalm]

Like it or not, this is America now. Removing it was fine, replacing it was dumb.

[SuperHornet]

Like it or not, this is America now. Removing it was fine, replacing it was dumb.

As much as I'd like to defend a former coach [I didn't work directly with him, as Mike Canales (now a consultant with Maryland) was our QBs coach], you're probably right, kalm. The original poster might have been a prank but seeing something coming from the coaching staff might be seen as coercive. Coaches have no business pushing political views on players....

[UNI88]

Like it or not, this is America now. Removing it was fine, replacing it was dumb.

As much as I'd like to defend a former coach [I didn't work directly with him, as Mike Canales (now a consultant with Maryland) was our QBs coach], you're probably right, kalm. The original poster might have been a prank but seeing something coming from the coaching staff might be seen as coercive. Coaches have no business pushing political views on players....

How do you differentiate between pushing political views on players and trying to teach players to think?

A spirited but respectful discussion around BLM would do a lot more to achieve its goals than asking/forcing people to blindly toe the line.

[kalm]

As much as I'd like to defend a former coach [I didn't work directly with him, as Mike Canales (now a consultant with Maryland) was our QBs coach], you're probably right, kalm. The original poster might have been a prank but seeing something coming from the coaching staff might be seen as coercive. Coaches have no business pushing political views on players....

How do you differentiate between pushing political views on players and trying to teach players to think?

A spirited but respectful discussion around BLM would do a lot more to achieve its goals than asking/forcing people to blindly toe the line.

Yes it would. And that’s exactly what the coach should have tried…assuming that he didn’t.

[UNI88]

How do you differentiate between pushing political views on players and trying to teach players to think?

A spirited but respectful discussion around BLM would do a lot more to achieve its goals than asking/forcing people to blindly toe the line.

Yes it would. And that’s exactly what the coach should have tried…assuming that he didn’t.

Putting up the poster he did might have been an attempt to start such a discussion.

You can assume what you will and I can assume that any attempt to have such a discussion would be dismissed and the person attempting to begin such a discussion labeled an obstructionist and racist. Kind of like how opposition to CRT is labeled as a racist attempt to prevent the teaching of history.

Mods, this thread should probably be moved to the Poly Board.

[kalm]

Yes it would. And that’s exactly what the coach should have tried…assuming that he didn’t.

Putting up the poster he did might have been an attempt to start such a discussion.

You can assume what you will and I can assume that any attempt to have such a discussion would be dismissed and the person attempting to begin such a discussion labeled an obstructionist and racist. Kind of like how opposition to CRT is labeled as a racist attempt to prevent the teaching of history.

Mods, this thread should probably be moved to the Poly Board.

Assuming meaning I agree with you if that wasn’t the case. I know of a similar situation involving a coach that ended the same way.

You and I simply don’t know the intent, but what matters is how his employer views it. In this climate, replacing the poster was dumb. Regardless of whether it was just or not.

[UNI88]

Putting up the poster he did might have been an attempt to start such a discussion.

You can assume what you will and I can assume that any attempt to have such a discussion would be dismissed and the person attempting to begin such a discussion labeled an obstructionist and racist. Kind of like how opposition to CRT is labeled as a racist attempt to prevent the teaching of history.

Mods, this thread should probably be moved to the Poly Board.

Assuming meaning I agree with you if that wasn’t the case. I know of a similar situation involving a coach that ended the same way.

You and I simply don’t know the intent, but what matters is how his employer views it. In this climate, replacing the poster was dumb. Regardless of whether it was just or not.

Replacing the poster was foolish if he wanted to stay employed there. It could be argued that it was brave if he was willing to put his job on the line in order to try and make a point.

[kalm]

Assuming meaning I agree with you if that wasn’t the case. I know of a similar situation involving a coach that ended the same way.

You and I simply don’t know the intent, but what matters is how his employer views it. In this climate, replacing the poster was dumb. Regardless of whether it was just or not.

Replacing the poster was foolish if he wanted to stay employed there. It could be argued that it was brave if he was willing to put his job on the line in order to try and make a point.

Sure. And now he’s suing.

[dal4018]

Former IL State OC/QBs Coach Kurt Beathard has sued HC Brock Spack and former AD Larry Lyons for violation of free speech. Someone posted a BLM poster on his office door, and he removed it, replacing it with one reading "All Redbird Lives Matter." A few days later (in SEP), Beathard was pressured to resign. The official excuse for pushing him to leave were that Spack didn't like the direction of the passing game, but Beathard's attorney alleges that the real reason was that he did not toe the official line on BLM. I believe there was discussion of this when he was first pushed out, but the suit was just filed.

Beathard has previously coached at Pacific, James Madison, Towson State, and Sacramento of the UFL.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/bre ... story.html

Hope this guy doesn't have a problem with skin color????