Student Stripper May Rejoin Track Teams

Re “University Voids Running Teams’ Ban on Stripper,” June 30, about the coach who kicked the student off Cal State Fullerton’s track and cross-country teams because she worked part-time as an exotic dancer: According to the student’s attorney, the coach has said that “stripping goes against his moral credo as a Christian.”

Of course, if stripping is against coach John Elders’ religious beliefs, he certainly should not engage in it. However, there is a vast difference between saying, “My religion forbids me to,” and, “My religion forbids you to.” Should the coach be forced off the team if one of the players is a Jain who objects to him swatting mosquitoes, an Orthodox Jew who believes his haircut to be impious or a devout Muslim who takes issue with the coach’s failure to fast during Ramadan? It is admirable to live up to one’s own religious tenets, but to attempt to force others to live according to them is only abusive.

Steve Hoffmann

Redondo Beach