Football coach told team to taunt son of lesbian parents with ‘who’s your daddy’ chants
(Getty)
A high school football coach has reportedly been sacked after telling his players to bully an opposition player who has two lesbian parents.
Gray-New Gloucester coach Duane Greaton apparently told members of his squad to say “Who’s your daddy” to the player every time he was tackled, PressHerald reports.
The child’s parents, Lynn and Stephanie Eckersley-Ray, of Yarmouth, said that the players and other parents told them about the actions of the coach.
American football (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
“We found out because some Gray parents and players stepped forward and we are extremely thankful to them,” said Lynn.
“They did what they could about it and we are appreciative and thankful for that.”
Related: This openly gay footballer has been accepted by everyone but his parents
Gray-New Gloucester senior Eric Thompson, one of four team captains, confirmed that the coach had given the instruction
“The short answer is yes,” he said. “He wanted us to be aggressive and play hard.”
Brilliantly, the team ignored the coach’s wishes and no such taunts were heard at all during the match.
“They stepped up,” said Rick McCann, the father of one of the other students
“It was the right thing to do.”
Superintendent Craig King confirmed that Greaton had left the role, though it was not clear if he was sacked or had resigned.
“We do not tolerate threatening or discriminatory behaviour,” he said.
Homophobia is sadly still a significant problem in American sports, despite such advances as out American Football star Michael Sam making his professional debut in 2015.
While the US national soccer teams played in rainbow-themed kits earlier this year to support LGBT Pride month, one evangelical Christian player dropped out of the matches for “personal reasons”.
