Prince George revises policies amid debate on Bible verses on county jerseys
VENN
PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Prince George County leaders have partially walked back some of the rule changes they previously approved amid a heated debate about Bible verses on youth soccer jerseys.
During a regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, the Prince George County Board of Supervisors approved new Parks & Recreation policies to, in part, address growing controversy about religious references on county-owned jerseys.
Said controversy began in September after Andrew Collins, a volunteer coach within one of the county's Parks & Recreation youth soccer leagues, added the Bible verse reference "John 14:6" to the players' county-issued jerseys.
The verse being referenced reads “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life — No one comes to the Father except through me,'” within the New International Version of the Bible.
Since the beginning, there has been conflict about how this played out. While the coach told both county officials and 8News that he received parents' permission to make these alterations, the county said "not all parents of affected children had been informed in advance." 8News also spoke to one such parent, who said he had not been told and that the decision upset him.
In mid-October, the county's Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to approve a set of rules that included detailed expectations for the uniforms that players wear while playing county-sanctioned recreational activities and games.
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"Only uniforms purchased or issued through the Department may be worn during recreational activities and games. … County issued uniforms may not be torn, cut, or modified," reads sub-paragraph A of those rules.
As the jerseys were indeed modified by the addition of the Bible verse reference, alterations like Collins' are considered prohibited under these rules.
"No apparel may be worn during games or practices that appears to be part of a uniform and that bears messaging that a reasonable observer would construe to be approved by or endorsed by Prince George County or its constituent departments or agencies without the prior approval of the Parks and Recreation Department of Prince George County," reads sub-paragraph B of those rules.
This decision was met with pushback, with some parents joining Collins in calling sub-paragraph B "unconstitutional."
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"I’ll let them have the jerseys, they can have the jersey[s,] whatever -- but sub-paragraph B, they’ve gone way too far and really overreached,” Collins previously told 8News. “Now they’re trying to tell us what we can and can’t wear on our personal clothes, when this is the same Board of Supervisors that will open the meeting with a prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Not a contradiction at all, is it?”
During its next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, the board approved a new set of Parks & Recreation Department policies that retained sub-paragraph A but did away with sub-paragraph B.
In a press release issued after the decision, the county addressed what it called "some misconceptions [that] may remain" about this controversy, including Collins' claim about the way it opens its meetings with an invocation.
"The Invocation that the Board uses at the start of every meeting is considered a legislative invocation, not a government endorsement of religion," the county said in the release. "It is not considered a religious exercise for the public."
County leaders further stressed that these rules are not meant to attack individual free speech -- they are just to regulate the uniforms, which are "considered government speech as they are required to participate in county recreation sports programs/activities."
"The county appreciates the strong community interest and open dialogue on this issue and is committed to fairness and clairty for all families participating in our programs," officials said in the release.
8News spoke to Collins at Tuesday's meeting, who also emphasized how much he appreciated the response from his neighbors.
"I think the amount of eyes that have seen and read John 14:6 is amazing," he said. "I could have never done this in 40 years of coaching -- had this many people read John 14:6. And I hope that people come to the Lord in this whole thing."
