Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

December 2014 – Officials at Arkansas State University reversed field after ordering crosses removed from the football helmets of its players in September.

Over 25,000 AFA supporter emails flooded the offices of the president and legal counsel of ASU, urging them to abide by the Constitution of the United States and stop its practice of religious discrimination.

The small crosses were decals on the backs of helmets, placed there by players in honor of former player Markel Owens and former equipment manager Barry Weyer. Owens was gunned down in Tennessee in January, and Weyer was killed in a June car crash. 

A individual in Jonesboro, home of the ASU Red Wolves, complained about the crosses, claiming they were unconstitutional because ASU is a public university. Officials of the school quickly caved and ordered the decals removed.

After a tremendous public outcry, the school issued a statement acknowledging the First Amendment rights of its students, including speech in the form of a cross-shaped helmet sticker as a memorial to their former teammates.