Friday, December 3, 2010
Phillips It Gets Better: Belmont Honors Christ's Birth By Booting Expecting Family into the Cold
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 7:10 AM
W.W.J.D.? In the gospel according to Belmont University, he would kick a family expecting a child out into the cold, just in time for Christmas. The words "no room at the inn" come to mind. Happy birthday, Jesus.
Except that sources on her team report "the coach said she was given the choice to resign or be terminated because she had revealed her sexuality by telling the team about the pregnancy."
Of course, Belmont is free to fire people for being gay. Tennesseans don't have protections from being fired for sexual orientation under the Tennessee Human Rights Act.
But here's the thing that really sticks in my craw. On the one hand, if you believe the players quoted in Coach Howe's defense — who bravely stuck their necks waaay out — the university intends to discriminate against gay people. But on the other, they want to force her to resign so that they can deny they fired her for being gay.
If being gay is really unacceptable, Belmont, why even try to gloss over that that's why you got rid of Coach Howe?
If you're not doing anything to be ashamed about — kicking a parent-to-be to the curb (and right before Christmas!) for reasons that have nothing to do with job performance — why hide it?
Unless you do know it's wrong.
Just as a side note, I don't know how many young people actually read Pith, but I want to say that I know that stories like this (or what happened to Akasha Adonis this past week) can make it seem like the whole "It Gets Better" movement is a joke — that you're never going to be able to do regular stuff like go shopping with your Mom (or get a job you love and fall in love and have a baby) without your gender identity or sexual orientation always being an issue that gets you hurt.
And, frankly, in a state like Tennessee, that may be true, at least for the foreseeable future.
But that still doesn't mean that you don't deserve better and that we don't need you here to help make it better. It's true — maybe here in Tennessee we need a "It Doesn't Always Get Better But the Misfits Band Together and Find Ways to Cope" project. But we do band together and find ways to cope, the people who are misfits for all kinds of reasons.
So, if you can't quite believe that things get better, especially in the face of news like this, know, at least, that you are not alone.
And neither is Lisa Howe — as Belmont is about to discover.
Comments (88)
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This is absolutely a disgrace. I know Belmont might have a Christian Agenda as a private university, but the simple fact is that Christians are called to be understanding, compassionate, and Christ like. I have read my Bible cover to cover, and I do not see ANYWHERE in the New Testemant where Christ ever condemned anyone for being gay. In fact I don't see where Christ condemned anyone who didn't deserve it as a Pharisee, which is EXACTLY what the heads of Belmont University are being in this case. They are no better than the Jewish Pharisees, interpreting God's Will as THEY see fit and not as HE intended. Instead of forcing this woman to resign or firing her, they should have welcomed her with arms-wide open with the love and compassion that all Christians should show towards their neighbor regardless of what "crimes" they may or may not have committed. Not a one of us is free from sin, and this makes me absolutely sick that a so-called Christian University would do something like this, especially before our Lord's birthday. I personally will never have another thing to do with Belmont after this incident.
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Maybe that should be: W.W.J.D.S.L.A.I.D.U.O.A.A.D. (What Would Jesus Do So Long As It Doesn't Upset Our Alumni and Donors)
Hey, now, there are a lot of Jewish people in the "It Doesn't Always Get Better But the Misfits Band Together and Find Ways to Cope" project, so let's be careful that we don't slander them in our anger at Belmont.
I’m kind of confused – I mean, OBVIOUSLY she was fired because she’s a lesbian, but how on earth does a woman’s pregnancy draw attention to one’s real or presumed lesbianism? Again, OBVIOUSLY we live in a world where babies can come from fertility treatments and surrogates, but isn’t a pregnant belly typically indicative of heterosexual goings-on? Is it because she would have been pregnant out of wedlock, which isn’t even a legal option if that was something she and her partner wanted to do? What if they adopted a baby? What if she wasn’t in a relationship at all (with a man or a woman) and became pregnant, by choice or by accident, by science or by nature? Like I said, OBVIOUSLY it’s the gay thing, but I’m not quite making the leap that bun in the oven = gay.
That Misfit project comes with a ready-made motto, B: "It's no real pleasure in life."
I was going to make an entirely inappropriate Belmont Softball joke, then found out the coach is male. er...wait...there might be an inapropriate joke in there after all.
BTW, perhaps if she was fired it wasn't for being gay but having a child out of wedlock?
And -I thought Belmont wasn't a Baptist school anymore?
So many questions.
Oh boy! Another chance for our fair city to be mentioned in a bad light in the national media! Someone should set up a pool taking wagers on the order in which the pundits pick this up.
Hoping that Ms. Howe and her family come through this with new and better opportunities.
Ashley, I think because her partner is the one who's having the baby--so if "we're" having a baby and she's not pregnant, that outs her as gay.
So, I should point out that this also belies the "but what if they were firing her for having a child out of wedlock"? line. If they don't recognize gay relationships as legitimate, then she's not having a baby out of wedlock, some gal who's a close friend of hers is, so there's no reason to fire her or force her to resign. By that logic, she's nothing to that baby.
They at least are acknowledging that she had a relationship to the pending baby, one they can fire/force her to resign over.
I will direct you all to the article by the Tennessean as well as the Belmont Vision for a more extensive understanding of what's going on. Thank you Betsy for writing this, because you are voicing a legitimate frustration that is being lost in PC-ness.
Lmcknash has the idea right on the firing reason.
Tom Woods- Belmont is no longer Baptist affiliated but still "Christian" and that is why the University is struggling so much with its acceptance of the LGBT community, because they have no official institutional public stance to hold
Being a Methodist, (but having been raised a Baptist), I've lost touch with what are fireable offenses.
Interestingly, Martin Methodist is looking for a MEN's soccer coach. It would be very Methodist of them to hire Ms. Howe.
I'm kind of amused (in the sense of "amused" that actually means "horrified") at the idea that there's anyone who is 100% completely sure what the Creator intended and figures that s/he isn't engaging in any interpretation when s/he tells the rest of us what that is. I'm also amused at people who don't know that Jesus was a Pharisee himself, but that's another story.
I'm also pretty sure that the point of pressuring this woman to resign was money: there's probably some wrinkle in her contract that gets the university out of paying her a severance package if she quits.
knowing nothing of the politics involved or the orientations/beliefs of the schools, I think it would be awesome if MM hired her
Here's the link to the Belmont Vision piece: http://belmontvision.com/2010/12/02/coach-…
Is anyone REALLY surprised by this? It is a private school, with private donors who all are 'Christian' with 'Christian' values. Christianity and homosexuality do not mix, especially here in the South. I hate to sound like a religo-basher but what do you expect from people who are ignorant and backwoods with Bronze Age beliefs?
You can be Christian and be gay. It's only because certain institutions have decided to clothe their homophobia in religious excuses that it seems otherwise. But there are plenty of gay Christians in Tennessee and plenty of churches who welcome them
In other news, here's a City Paper article that adds some context about what the GLBT community at Belmont has been going through in general this year, just trying to get the University to recognize them and their allies as a legitimate group. (http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city…)
I'll say one thing, what the Belmont students are doing--all around, from trying to organize a student group to risking their educational careers by talking to the media and so on--is incredibly brave and admirable. Belmont may need to get its head out of its ass, but the Belmont students have a lot to be proud of.
Excellent point, Betsy. That may be the saddest irony: the students Belmont apparently doesn't want to acknowledge honor the school.
@ Betsy Phillips - Go back and reread my comments. They weren't directed at the Jewish people, they were directed at the Jewish Phariesees. There is a huge difference. In the New Testament they were the religious leaders at the time of Christ. At first the values of the Pharisees developed through their sectarian debates with the Sadducees; then they developed through internal, non-sectarian debates over the law as an adaptation to life without the Temple, and life in exile, and eventually, to a more limited degree, life in conflict with Christianity. These shifts mark the transformation of Pharasaic to Rabbinic Judaism. In the time of Christ they were the religious leaders and diabolically opposed to anything different than the will of God that THEY perceived, not the will of God that was.
"Instead of forcing this woman to resign or firing her, they should have welcomed her with arms-wide open with the love and compassion that all Christians should show towards their neighbor regardless of what "crimes" they may or may not have committed."
Are you insinuating that she committed a 'crime' by being gay?
Matt, you do know that Jesus was a Pharisee, right? The words ascribed to him are chock full of direct, approving quotes from other Pharisees, especially Hillel, and his quarrel with some of them was one of those internal debates you mention. Every time you refer to Jesus as a rabbi, you are acknowledging that he was a Pharisee, since the Pharisees were the founders of rabbinic Judaism; the "transition" you say took place between the religion of the Pharisees and that of rabbinic Jews doesn't exactly exist. So I want to know: does that mean that Jesus was diabolical, or just the rest of the rabbis?
Ray D. has it right. And seems to me when a gay person goes to work for a company they know or has good reason to believe is anti-gay, the clock is ticking on exactly when they will be fired or forced to resign. It's a shame, but utterly predictable.
And many people are given the option to resign instead of being fired. That's usually the better option for the employee as well as the company, and it's the option Howe chose. When the dust settles, this will probably be a positive in Howe's life, after she finds an employer who isn't bigoted against gays and she can live her life more openly.
Or how about we don't just dismiss Belmont as a fundamentally bigoted institution that can't change and we keep up the pressure on them to not be evil?
They have a very, very easy solution, right now, if they want it. They could say "We are horrified to learn that Coach Howe resigned because she thought she and her family were unwelcome in the Belmont community and we hope that she will be at work on Monday, where she belongs. We are very sorry for the misunderstanding and will work as a community to make sure it doesn't happen again."
They're a school that believes in redemption and forgiveness. It's time for them to redeem themselves and ask for forgiveness.
you are right Marvin, there are so many jobs out there that we gay people can pick and choose which jobs we want ....
Ok, as wrong as it was for the school to fire this person... it is no secret what Belmont's stance is on lgbt. So, for this person to get hired there in the first place, it would have been necessary for her to mislead the school about her sexual orientation. That's not right either.
Last time you went in for a job interview somewhere, were you asked your sexual orientation?
Jesus Christ, has this conversation actually devolved into figuring out how the victim in this scenario is to blame?
Wow.
so, bent arrow, do you put down "heterosexual" on your job applications? I can't recall every seeing check boxes for sexual preference on any application I've seen.
I'm going to enroll at Belmont and when I do they'll have to deal with me on my terms and my morality because I'm the only one who has any rights because I and my supporters say so. So there! Of course I could just quietly find another place to do as I want because, deep down, I know that not everyone appreciates my life style and I really have no right to impose mine on them.... Nah, what's the fun in that?
And yet, here you are, gast, day after day, imposing your lifestyle on us. I guess you don't practice what you preach?
"I'm going to enroll at Belmont and when I do they'll have to deal with me on my terms and my morality..."
Not unless you magically gain about 50 IQ points.
I wonder if it's genetic or learned behavior? do you think he could change, or at least keep it to himself? is there aversion therapy for stupidity?
How can any institution have a DADT policy at the same time it implicitly believes in John 8:32 -- "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Hypocrisy is one of the major tenets of organized religion. Has "the university" become a self-aware institution? Who is speaking for the "university" and "They" in this perfect example of double spoken hypocrisy.
http://www.scribd.com/full/44620647?access…
Did I offend somebody by offering a different perspective? I must be a bigot. Off to my therapist so he/she can make me PC.
Dear Mr Pink, if I was LGBT I would not apply for a job with a known fundamentalist Christian slant, especially if I was a Christian LGBT. One because I know I would have to hide my orientation, and two because I don't think Jesus would want me to lie about myself to others. Most companies outside of the religion industry don't give a damn about orientation. I would go work for one of those.
Hey bent arrow, it's pretty hard to get a job as a soccer coach from a private company.
Gast, you have an absolute right to your "different perspective," just as the rest of us have an absolute right to make fun of it.
LISA HOWE IS THE GREATEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO BELMONT WOMENS SOCCER. SHE NEVER EXPECTED ANYTHING LESS THAN CLASS. RESPECT. HUMILITY. AND COURAGE. FROM EACH AND EVERY ONE OF HER PLAYERS.
LISA HOWE GAVE EVERYTHING SHE HAD TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HER PLAYERS WHO EVER TOUCHED A SOCCER BALL, AT BELMONT UNIVERSITY.
SHE BUILT A PROGRAM THAT EACH PLAYER FELT PROUD TO BE A PART OF...PROUD. LISA BROUGHT PRIDE TO BELMONT.
ANY OUNCE OF PRIDE ASSOCIATED WITH BRUIN SOCCER EXISTS BECAUSE SHE TAUGHT US HOWE TO WIN...NOT AT ANY AND ALL COSTS...
LISA HOWE TAUGHT US HOWE TO WIN...
RIGHTEOUSLY.
NOT MANY PROGRAMS HAVE THE BLESSED OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A COACH, AS DEDICATED, AND AS SELFLESS AS LISA HOWE.
FOR ALL THESE REASONS,
LISA HOWE REMAINS THE. MOST. CHRISTIAN. COACH. I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED IN MY ENTIRE PLAYING CAREER.
THANK YOU, LISA!
The woman is a pervert. Does anyone read the word of God anymore. Read the third book of the bible. She should repent and ask God to forgive her.
Read God's word and see what it says about casting the first stone. Then again, maybe that's how you got those dents in your skull.
Belmont University has made so many gains in the past decade. It is a horrible shame that the university's underpinnings remain tied to the Belmont of the past. All of the remaining gay faculty should be frightened. As for the numerous gay students, you have nothing to fear. The university still wants your money today and after you graduate. Shame on that pathetic university. There is a really extraordinary university just down the street - Vanderbilt University. All students who are appalled by Belmont's firing of this gay coach should consider taking their dollars and allegiances to Vanderbilt, a true institution of higher learning.
I'm an ex-student. I went there for a year, and I hope to return there next year. I hope that, when/if I return, it will adopt a gay-friendly policy regarding student groups and employment. God bless Lisa Howe. I was never a player for her, but one day I remember her helping me up when I tripped on some stairs. I'm a little klutzy. Lol.
Nowhere in the bible does it say homosexuality is okay. Jesus stated that he came not to change the old laws, but to uphold them down to the last stroke. Those old laws said homosexual behavior, at least by men, would be punished by death. And he did not change that law or any other. What he did do was modify some of the penalties as evidenced by what he said after he chastised the hypocrites by saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." He then told the adulteress he saved from stoning to "Go and sin no more," thus illustrating the benevolence of "hate the sin, love the sinner." WWJD today in regards to homosexuals? Probably the same thing he did then with the adulteress, "Hate the sin, love the sinner. Go and sin no more." Who knows for sure? But WWJD with people who demand that a university abandon its Christian tenets? I don't see how he could be very happy with those people or with people who cherry pick the bible looking for quotations to justify immoral behavior.
As a Belmont student, the interesting part to this that many are missing is that there are MANY Belmont faculty that are gay or lesbian. Here on campus, many of the faculty are now kinda walking around watching their back, because they don't know what is going to happen next.
Gast, I'm sure Belmont is thrilled that your defense of them is "Well, the Bible says they could have killed her!"
Gee, thank, Belmont, for following the Bible but not too closely!
@zyoung92
I agree. I am an alumnus, and although Belmont is a Christian institution, which I knew when I enrolled, there IS a large (proportionately) percentage of LGBT students--most of which don't really come out until their senior year.
If the students were to walk out (or incoming students didn't enroll), I really believe there would be a small dent into the student population and tuition revenue would go down--and there would not be the same calibre of students who would be chosen to fill that gap.
I think it's time for the university to recognize their customer (the university is clearly run as a business). Belmont may have explicit Christian values on their website, but I had a fairly normal college experience. Requiring 10 "Christian Development" convocation credits and two religion classes (one of which can be Jesus & the Gospel in Film) hardly constitutes a university based on "Christian values."
