Hate group targets coaches for praying over critically injured student

'If I believe in a God who answers prayers, how bad to I have to hate the kid who's injured or the player who asked or the players who are hurting not to pray?'

Youth Pastor Eric Dill was at a Central High football game in Tennessee when a player was severely injured by a neck injury, leaving the teen in critical condition on the field for over half-an-hour.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to WRCBTV, Dill took a knee to pray for the injured boy.

"A neck injury is the scariest part of football," Pastor Dill explained.

"It was almost dead silence about the only thing I could hear on the field was like sniffling and just players getting emotional."

Officials believed the boy suffered a neck or possible life-threatening spinal injury and when he was carried away by ambulance, a player asked Dill to offer a prayer. The youth pastor didn't even hesitate.

"If I believe in a God who answers prayers, how bad do I have to hate the kid who's injured or the player who asked or the players who are hurting not to pray?" Dill asked.

"I'm going to be respectful and I'm going to be considerate. I'm not going to force myself or my faith - God doesn't force himself on people. But if a student asks me, 'Eric pray for this,' especially something like this, I'm going to pray."

Dill took a knee, which was captured by several in attendance, and prayed. Other students and staff joined in and everyone was concerned for the injured boy - except one person, who happened to be a member of the notorious hate group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).

The person filed an anonymous complaint, with the FFRF watermark, in which the anonymous person chose to attack the coaches who dared bow their heads for the prayer.

"I did so because federal course have repeatedly ruled for decades that coaches cannot participate in prayer in school, and even that student led prayer at football games is unconstitutional. I simply want faculty and staff at Hamilton County Schools to follow the law, which they currently are not doing. Giving a minister access to students for religious purposes during a football game is indefensible."

The letter continued, with the anonymous person claiming: "The same Christians who are upset that I complained would be the first to riot if a Muslim came to the school to pray. I stand by my decision to complain and hope that appropriate actions are taken to ensure that these kinds of constitutional violations do not occur again in the future."

The letter also cited Central High and opposing team East Ridge High School of endorsing a coach-led prayer, though Dill is not a coach.

No other complaints were filed but the school still responded, saying they spoke to coaches, who claimed they had no knowledge that bowing their heads in silence was the same as endorsing or encouraging prayer and they only did so out of respect for the student.

Attorney Scott Bennet said it was all a misunderstanding and the coaches were merely responding to the prayer with a gesture of compassion but video revealed students and faculty members were on their knees to pray for the student, who had been unable to move his legs for over 30 minutes.

Pastor Dill stated: "Those coaches would  never do anything to jeopardize their influence or care over those students. They would never do anything intentional to do that. They're not perfect and I'm not a perfect person but they care for and love those players as much as they can.

"The person who made the complaint and the Freedom from Religion Foundation are not the enemy and so we need to make sure that our words and the thoughts that we post and the things we say in this conversation verbalize that ...they are not the enemy."

Despite the pastor's claims, FFRF considered the schools immediate investigation and response to be appropriate but want officials to take things a step further by acknowledging the coaches participation in the prayer was unconstitutional. FFRF reported they would be sending a follow-up letter to the school later this week.

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