Not a team player – Sports
Dan Allen
The Rice University football team is having mixed results this season, but head coach Ken Hatfield seems to think he has a winning philosophy when it comes to gay athletes.
Asked what he would do if he learned that one of his players was gay, Hatfield told The Chronicle of Higher Education that he would ask the player, “What happened? What changed since we recruited you?” and “When did this come about?” The coach added that he wouldn’t automatically kick a gay player off his team but that he would think hard about doing so.
A storm of criticism followed Hatfield’s comments. And university president Malcolm Gillis demanded assurance from the coach that he would uphold the school’s nondiscrimination policy. Hatfield maintains that his comments from the November 1 article were misrepresented. He said he made it clear to the interviewer that his personal beliefs do not stand in the way of his job.
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