An Oakland Park girls basketball coach missed Saturday’s Class 6A state championship game between his Northeast team and Fort Myers because of his religious beliefs.
Fort Myers’ Destanni Henderson drives past Northeast’s Larissa Lee during the Class 6A girls basketball state title game Saturday. (Photo courtesy of USA Today)
Zach Gillion, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, observes the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, according to a story in USA Today.
His team was scheduled to play for the state title at 1:30 p.m., which conflicted with Gillion’s observance of the Sabbath.
Gillion and the Florida High School Athletic Association, which runs the state tournament, worked to switch the game with another state title contest scheduled for that evening.
That game, which featured a pair of Class 8A schools – Boca Raton and Vero Beach – was slotted for 7 p.m.
But the sides were unable to reach an agreement, as the three schools involved had other planned activities or events, an FHSAA administrator told USA Today.
“Making a change in the state tournament is more difficult as it involves overnight stays and traveling greater distances than earlier rounds in the playoffs,” Justin Harrison said.
With Gillion absent from the sidelines, Northeast lost 60-45.
He told USA Today Saturday night that he was disappointed with the way the situation was handled. The FHSAA had altered his team’s schedule three times during the postseason, but was unable to do so for the biggest game of the year.
“The FHSAA doesn’t have high school games on Sunday to accommodate Sunday Sabbath-keepers,” he said. “I think the same accommodations should be made for Seventh-day Adventists. I think they (the FHSAA) made some mistakes. Adults making mistakes that affect kids – that should never happen.”
