Watch: Christian College Fires Queer Coach for Posts Celebrating LGBTQ+ Spirituality

A gay soccer coach evidently "contradicted" the "truths" promulgated by a Christian college that fired her for posting about LGBTQ+ acceptance and Jesus being "radically inclusive," CBS News reported.

The school – Geneva College in Beaver County, Pennsylvania – fired Kelsey Morrison from her position as a coach for women's soccer in early June, following Morrison's posts to her Instagram account, which is private, in April. Morrison said she was "escorted off of campus" immediately after her firing, CBS detailed.

In an interview with Baptist News Global, Morrison, who referred to herself as "queer," explained how she came to be working at a religious school that would end up rejecting her.

Morrison explained that the college "requires their staff and faculty to submit a personal statement of faith. And then, along with that, there's a code of conduct for the staff and faculty which.... talks about a non-affirming stance on homosexuality and that you won't promote participating in that 'lifestyle.' And so that was something I had to have a really firm grasp on before accepting the job. But I was in a place in my own convictions where I could commit to singleness. I could commit to hold to the code of conduct the college has, and so I went forward with accepting the position."

Moreover, Morrison explained, as someone from a Christian background herself, she "held to similar convictions to that of the college, so that for me, I don't believe a same-sex sexual relationship is what Jesus has for me. And I'm OK with that. I get to journey through what it means to have really rich community outside of that."

The school knew Morrison was part of the LGBTQ+ community and allowed her to speak to a student who was curious to know whether she was gay. All of that was fine – until Morrison posted the sentiment that LGBTQ+ people have something valuable to contribute, and are valued by God. In one Instagram post she wrote, "Queer people offer precious gifts to the church. Don't miss out." In another, she posted that "Jesus is radically inclusive" – hardly news to anyone who has read New Testament accounts of how Jesus interacted with people deemed by the religious authorities of the time to be sinners and outcasts.

"I want [LGBTQ+] people to know they have value in a church setting and offer gifts to the body of Christ," Morrison told the outlet. "Was there a risk? Yes. I probably did think about it at the time. But I still would say those things. I think there's probably a different platform for it, which is why it can be easily misconstrued. But I think anyone who sat down for 20 minutes would be like, 'Oh, yeah, your people do offer value to the church.'"

Geneva College evidently did not think so.

"That's the entirety of it," Morrison said of her firing. "Those two posts were put in front of me when I went into HR."

Moreover, Morrison said her firing came out of the blue, with no attempt on the part of the college to find out more about what she meant in posting her thoughts about LGBTQ+ people and religion.

"I just want to know why no one spoke to me about this issue," Morrison told Baptist News Global. "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."

Not only did the college refuse to talk with Morrison; it seemingly didn't want her talking to anyone else about the reason for her dismissal.

"There was an offer," Morrison told Baptist News Global. "If I signed an NDA [nondisclosure agreement] I would get three months' severance."

Hanging tight to the convictions of her faith – "money is not that alluring to me" – Morrison rejected the attempt to ensure her silence.

"I just couldn't bear it," she told the outlet. "People were misinterpreting why I was fired, there were rumors going around. Also, I just have a really strong conviction that queer people do add value to these settings. And I knew the situation was really wrong, so I knew it wasn't for me to sign that form."

CBS News noted that the school issued a statement in which it said, "In order to maintain its religious character and identity, the College draws its workforce from among those who are willing to model and annually reaffirm their commitment to the truths captured in these documents. The College reserves the right to take appropriate action, up to and including separation from employment, if an employee engages in behavior or expression that contradicts or undermines these views."

Evidently, that includes suggesting that LGBTQ+ people have spiritual worth and value in the eyes of God.

To watch the CBS news report, follow this link.