A kind word for Coach Collick
Cape Henlopen High School football coach Bill Collick stood at the edge of a group of players on their knees in a postgame prayer recently. Sports Editor Dave Frederick, a friend of Collick’s and himself a coach of long standing, caught the scene with his camera. When the Cape Gazette published the photograph - in print and online - it captured the attention of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, dedicated to keeping religion and public functions separate.
The group cried foul, saying Collick’s participation served as an endorsement of the activity. It violated, in their opinion, the First Amendment to our nation’s Constitution, which states that the government shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion.
It’s a wonderful amendment, that first. It also guarantees the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech, and, one of our favorites, freedom of the press. One of the reasons why many of this nation’s earliest European settlers fled their home countries was so they could worship as they chose, or not, and not have to fear that their government would force some religious doctrine or practice on them. And while we applaud the raising of issues by watchdog groups, whose activities are also guaranteed by the First Amendment, it’s tough in these challenging times to swallow criticism and legal threats against peaceful assembly, with a coach’s participation, for such a positive purpose.
Coach Collick didn’t organize, lead, or require the prayer. To the contrary, he exercised his own constitutional right to join this peaceful assembly. He was being supportive, and that’s what good coaches do. And Coach Collick is a good coach. He serves as a positive role model through his professional and positive demeanor on the field and in the hallways of Cape Henlopen High School as an administrator. He keeps students engaged, who might otherwise not be, and on the right track.
We know this issue isn’t really about Coach Collick, but we’re casting our vote for him anyway. This world needs all the peaceful assembly and positive reinforcement it can get.
