The Freedom From Religion Foundation has persuaded a California school district to end a practice in which a high school basketball coach required players to complete Christian journal assignments or face extra conditioning during practice.
A concerned parent reported that the Enterprise High School basketball coach in the Shasta Union High School District was forcing students to complete daily affirmations and prayers in faith-based journals during the 2026 basketball season. The journals featured a Latin cross on the cover and were titled “The Empowered Christian Athlete Journal.”
According to the parent, the coach would punish student-athletes by forcing them to run additional laps during practice if they did not complete their Christian journal assignments. In numerous text messages, the coach reminded students that they must complete the religious assignments or else face punishment, such as “running double.” The parent further explained that they were “very angered and disappointed … that a Christian based journal would be pushed at a public school” and that their “child would be disciplined for not participating” in the religious journal activities. They explained that they are not a religious family, and pointed out that the faith-based journal assignments crossed the constitutional line.
“When coaches direct students to complete Christian journal assignments or else face punishment at practice, student-athletes will no doubt feel that completing the religious journaling is essential to avoiding punishment, pleasing their coach, and being viewed as a team player,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.
FFRF noted to the district that public school coaches may not use their authority to coerce students into participating in religious activities or completing faith-based assignments. The coach clearly violated the First Amendment rights of student-athletes. Additionally, religious team assignments needlessly marginalize students, such as the parent’s child, who are nonreligious or members of minority faiths. Forty-two percent of adult Californians are non-Christians, and 33 percent are nonreligious. Statistically, nearly half of Americans born after 1996 are nonreligious.
Following FFRF’s complaint, the district investigated the allegations.
“Upon completion of the investigation, we informed the coach that the use of the journal in this context should not continue moving forward,” Associate Superintendent of Human Resources Jason Rubin wrote. “In addition, the district will provide training and guidance to staff to ensure a clear understanding of expectations and to help prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.”
FFRF welcomes the district’s prompt corrective action and will continue working to ensure that public school students are free from religious coercion.
“This is one of the more egregious misuses of authority we have recently seen by a public school coach,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Coaches wield enormous influence over young athletes, and that authority cannot be used to pressure students into participating in religious exercises. Public school athletics should build teamwork and character, not serve as a vehicle for religious indoctrination.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 41,000 members, including over 5,000 members and two chapters in California, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
