VCU "Sports" Discrimination
When it comes to sportsmanship, Virginia Commonwealth University is getting it wrong.
My mama and daddy taught me long ago: Good sportsmanship is something you do all the time. Fair play is always the right way to go. Win, lose, or draw, be fair and generous to all. That’s the code of conduct that is always right.
But that surely does not seem to be the code in use by Ed McLaughlin, the university’s athletic director. Without any notice, he refused to renew the contract of James Finley, eight-year veteran coach of women’s volleyball whose team just posted a 25 wins, 6 losses record. And that was on top of moving the team from a tier 3 to a tier 2 league. And the entire team turned in solid academic performances.
Why then? A press statement from the University says, in part, “Our program needs a different direction and different leadership to attain our goals of achieving at an elite level nationally.” Sounds like what Finley (pictured right) is already doing.
And, oh yes, according to a member of the team, McLaughlin told them, “We want someone to better represent the school.”
Ouch. Heard that one before. It’s usually code for getting rid of someone who reminds us of something we don’t want to remember.
Blacks heard it. Latino/a people heard it. Still do.
Women heard it. Still do.
Gay and lesbian and transgender folk heard it. Still do.
Did I mention that James Finley is gay? And open about it, proud of his marriage to John Sternlicht and his participation in efforts to insure that VCU is open and affirming to all, proud to be a role model and support for LGBT athletes at the school.
Not sure what sexual orientation has to do with coaching women’s volleyball, but it seems like McLaughlin believes it disqualifies Finley from his job. Surely it is not his performance, which has not been questioned. Surely it is not the team record, which is simply outstanding. The story is already gaining national attention. And it's not the first instance of discrimination in the VCU Athletic department.
Brandon Scott McGuire—his friends call him Scott—just wants to serve an under-served population: those with physical and mental challenges that make it difficult for them to function in this fast-paced world, and cause many people, and society as a whole, to treat them with less than the dignity they deserve. 
Now, all this is lovely. You may well have participated in something similar in your own faith or tradition—the anointing of a new servant leader. So you may wonder why I am writing about it. After all, it happened, and Scott is now the Rev. Brandon Scott McGuire. Praise God!
The late comedienne, Gracie Allen, once famously said, “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” This truth describes the efforts of People of Faith for Equality in Virginia (POFEV). 
And God is definitely speaking through a special conference being offered by POFEV/NoVA and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax (UUCF) on October 19-20. The conference will be held at UUCF, 2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton, VA 22124.