Nebraska Coach: “Honor” to Lose Job for Antigay Statements

University of Nebraska assistant football coach Ron Brown says it would be an “honor” to lose his job for statements he made in opposition to an LGBT rights ordinance in Omaha, the Associated Press reports.

Brown attended an Omaha City Council meeting last month to speak out against the proposed law, which the council subsequently approved. He told council members that such a law would go against biblical prohibitions on homosexuality.

“The question I have for you all is, like Pontius Pilate, what are you going to do with Jesus?” Brown asked. “Ultimately, if you don’t have a relationship with him and you don’t really have a Bible-believing mentality, really, anything goes.”

Brown’s action has led some to call for his firing, noting that the university bans antigay discrimination and that his comments could create a hostile atmosphere for LGBT student athletes. So far, however, administrators are supporting him, saying his beliefs do not reflect university policy but he has a right to express them.

Brown told the AP, “To be fired for my faith would be a greater honor than to be fired because we didn’t win enough games. I haven’t lost any sleep over it. I realize at some point, we live in a politically correct enough culture where that very well could happen.”

Lincoln, where the university has its main campus, is scheduled to consider an ordinance similar to Omaha’s in May. Brown said he is “praying about” speaking out against it.