Oakwood Adventist Academy basketball players, in Huntsville, Alabama, had to make a choice between a game or their faith.
Last week, the Seventh-Day Adventist school reached the semi-finals. However, that game was scheduled to be played on Sat., February 19, at 4:30 p.m.
This was a conflict with Sabbath which is honored from sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday. Thus, the athletic director, Calvin Morton, emailed the Alabama High School Athletic Association. He wanted to be able to move the game time to 7:30 p.m. to stay in line with their religious beliefs.
The request wasn’t granted.
Even after other teams agreed to accommodate the team, their request was still denied.
Subsequent to a meeting, the basketball team decided that they would forfeit.
Now, Governor Kay Ivey wants answers. “Which AHSAA employees were responsible for making this decision? How can we as a State ensure that nothing like this happens again?” she asked.
The governor went on to invite the team and some staff to the state capitol next week to celebrate their accomplishments. They have accepted the invitation.
Still, the team is sticking by their decision. “There is a whole Facebook community. There are people all around the world texting parents, saying how proud they are of us. That means a lot,” stated Raynon Andrews, the team’s captain.
