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An assistant basketball coach is out of a job after his alleged involvement with the beating of two gay men on the streets of Philadelphia last week. Fran McGlinn, as identified by the Philadelphia Daily News, has resigned his coaching position, in all likelihood at the urging of Archbishop Wood High School and/or the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
"He was terminated this evening and will not be permitted to coach in any archdiocesan school," Kenneth Gavin, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese, told the Philadelphia Daily News. "We expect all those who work with students in our schools to model appropriate Christian behavior at all times."
It's particularly interesting that the Catholic Church would take the step of pushing him out. It is by the church's very teachings for decades that gay people are the targets of physical, verbal and legal assault. While the Archdiocese is saying all the right things about treating people well, the church has also vilified LGBT people for generations and calls our very relationships a "sin."
It's more reason why there needs to be some serious training of every high school coach in America on LGBT issues.
Sadly, because the Pennsylvania state government can't get its act together, this will not be tried as a hate crime – Attacks on people because of their sexual orientation are not viewed in Pennsylvania as a hate crime.
Brian Sims says he'll bring the victims to Capitol Hill to help pass a new hate-crimes law.
Either way, we're glad people on social media helped identified these gay-bashers and that at least one of them will have to pay dearly for his mistake.
