Geneva College, a private Christian college in Pennsylvania, has fired gay soccer coach Kelsey Morrison allegedly for simply saying in a private Instagram post that people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer belong in the church.
Morrison talked with Baptist News Global about her firing. In an interview with David Gushee, Morrison said the school knew she was gay, as she had shared that with a student and she reported it to the administration.
She says they told her it wasn’t a problem, because she said she was celibate.
It was when she posted a message on her private Instagram account that the alleged firing offense occurred. According to Gushee, the message contained language like “Queer people offer precious gifts to the church,” and “Jesus is radically inclusive.”
These were apparently too much for the College. Now she’s out of a job.
Morison had been hired by Geneva College in 2021. In her first season she led the women’s soccer team to its first appearance in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament.
“I was wondering why wasn’t there maybe a warning, like a conversation of, ‘Hey, please don’t share this on your private Instagram. We feel it can be misinterpreted,’” Morrison said. I just want to know why no one spoke to me about this issue. When we met in HR, it was probably about a month and a half after I had shared those Instagram stories. So it had been a long time. And there just wasn’t the ability to talk to anyone else, and no one has talked to me since then.”
The school allegedly offered her a severance package if she would sign a non-disclosure agreement. Morrison refused, saying her voice is more important than some money.
“I just have a really strong conviction that queer people do add value to these settings,” she said. “And I knew the situation was really wrong, so I knew it wasn’t for me to sign that form.”
