The God gesture disqualifies team after a track meet, preventing them from moving on to the state championship. The incident happened to the Columbus, Texas track team, and this one definitely has people up in arms. The Inquisitr shared the details on May 4.
The incident in question happened Friday when Derrick Hayes of the Mighty Cardinals track team from Columbus High School crossed the finish line. His team had just won the 4 x 100m relay in a decisive victory. Hayes then reportedly raised his hand and pointed to the sky. That gesture resulted in the team's disqualification.
The issue in this instance is that there is a rule that there can be no celebratory gestures, including a raising of the arms, done within the competition area. My Fox Houston notes that the rule is in place to restrict taunting of opponents, and there is no rule against religious expression.
The governing University Interscholastic League rules that the Columbus team had to be disqualified for “unsporting conduct” after Hayes' gesture of pointing to the sky. The gesture has been interpreted by spectators and those following the story as a gesture to God, though Hayes himself isn't speaking to the media.
The track relay team members are said to be heartbroken, and the town seems to be overwhelmingly upset. By and large, people tend to believe that the consequences are quite harsh in comparison to the alleged infraction. Nobody is disputing that Hayes made the gesture, but it is seen as being an overly harsh consequence for a minor gesture done in the excitement of a big win.
There are those who feel that the God gesture disqualifying the team is an infraction against Hayes' religious freedoms. While the gesture does not seem to have been perceived by anybody as being malicious or truly taunting, the University Interscholastic League seems to see the issue as black-and-white in terms of the celebratory gesture component.
Despite the uproar, the ruling stands regarding the disqualification. Derrick Hayes is not commenting on the incident, and interestingly there does not seem to be video or pictures of the moment of the gesture. The school district protested the decision, but the University Interscholastic League is not budging on their ruling that the God gesture disqualifies the team from moving on to the state championship.
The incident in question happened Friday when Derrick Hayes of the Mighty Cardinals track team from Columbus High School crossed the finish line. His team had just won the 4 x 100m relay in a decisive victory. Hayes then reportedly raised his hand and pointed to the sky. That gesture resulted in the team's disqualification.
The issue in this instance is that there is a rule that there can be no celebratory gestures, including a raising of the arms, done within the competition area. My Fox Houston notes that the rule is in place to restrict taunting of opponents, and there is no rule against religious expression.
The governing University Interscholastic League rules that the Columbus team had to be disqualified for “unsporting conduct” after Hayes' gesture of pointing to the sky. The gesture has been interpreted by spectators and those following the story as a gesture to God, though Hayes himself isn't speaking to the media.
The track relay team members are said to be heartbroken, and the town seems to be overwhelmingly upset. By and large, people tend to believe that the consequences are quite harsh in comparison to the alleged infraction. Nobody is disputing that Hayes made the gesture, but it is seen as being an overly harsh consequence for a minor gesture done in the excitement of a big win.
There are those who feel that the God gesture disqualifying the team is an infraction against Hayes' religious freedoms. While the gesture does not seem to have been perceived by anybody as being malicious or truly taunting, the University Interscholastic League seems to see the issue as black-and-white in terms of the celebratory gesture component.
Despite the uproar, the ruling stands regarding the disqualification. Derrick Hayes is not commenting on the incident, and interestingly there does not seem to be video or pictures of the moment of the gesture. The school district protested the decision, but the University Interscholastic League is not budging on their ruling that the God gesture disqualifies the team from moving on to the state championship.