Ron Brown Returns to Nebraska as Director of Player Development

[Enhance]

I guess what bothers me most, is the fact that this is the first thing some people are thinking about, rather than the positives. It’s like there always has to be that guy, who pisses on the campfire. This twitter or should I say tweet from Josh P, almost begs of him needing attention, or listeners to react. I don’t know, SF is the man in charge, lets see where it goes from here. 

For some people, Brown's actions are/were intensely personal, so I don't have an issue with people being upset about it. However, as you astutely point out, the exception would be if people are mentioning it for no cause other than to stir the pot. I don't know if that was Josh's intent.

So far, I haven't seen any player (current or former) criticize the decision. I don't think we can draw a sweeping conclusion from that though.

Spotted the below on Twitter this morning. I've never heard of that website, however, they did also write an article about Brown's testimony in 2012 where they said "sad that a man this damaging to impressionable young men is given a platform to force his religion onto others." It appears they inject a modicum of editorialism into some of their content.

 

[Jeremy]

In high school, I went to an event where Ron was speaking, and his message was inspiring. In fact it stays with me to this day. 

      If he believes that only those who repent of their sins and put their faith and trust in Christ Jesus will be saved, it's only because that's what the Bible says. 

   I apologize in advance if this doesn't belong here, but others brought it up previously. Homosexuality is also spoken of in Romans chapter 1, so it's not only some old testament law. 

Ron, like the vast majority of Christians, 'hates the sin, but loves the sinner.' I realize this is probably an extreme position to take these days, but he is a very kind and supportive man, and a true ally for all athletes, no matter what. 

*Edit: I do agree, however, that giving UNL's address was not a good decision. 

 

[swmohusker]

Coach W was hired with 2 dui' s and got a third,  but dude could croot so he is good. In the world of college were coaches do whatever they can do to win whether it is paying, lying, cheating, sex parties, chold molestation, etc... It is crazy this is our focus.  

Brown believes in the Bible.   Shame on him.  Shame

 

[Cdog923]

Sure, he has done a lot of good, there is no doubt about that. But I don't think this is a minor thing. He openly advocated for discrimination and exclusion. That's pretty damning in my book.

Agreed. In the larger scope of things, this is most certainly not a minor thing.

 

[Mierin]

Coach W was hired with 2 dui' s and got a third,  but dude could croot so he is good. In the world of college were coaches do whatever they can do to win whether it is paying, lying, cheating, sex parties, chold molestation, etc... It is crazy this is our focus.  

Brown believes in the Bible.   Shame on him.  Shame

Lots of people made a big deal out of Williams, so what is your point?

Lots of people also believe in the Bible, including Frost, without going to city council meetings announcing their work address as their address while fighting for the legality of firing people for being gay. No one gives a crap that he just "believes in the Bible."

 

[Cdog923]

Coach W was hired with 2 dui' s and got a third,  but dude could croot so he is good. In the world of college were coaches do whatever they can do to win whether it is paying, lying, cheating, sex parties, chold molestation, etc... It is crazy this is our focus.  

Brown believes in the Bible.   Shame on him.  Shame

I, too, believe in the Bible.

I also happen to believe that basic human rights and protections should be extended to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. 

 

[Enhance]

Brown believes in the Bible.   Shame on him.  Shame

This is a disingenuous and gross misrepresentation of the conversation in this thread.

 

[runningblind]

Coach W was hired with 2 dui' s and got a third,  but dude could croot so he is good. In the world of college were coaches do whatever they can do to win whether it is paying, lying, cheating, sex parties, chold molestation, etc... It is crazy this is our focus.  

Brown believes in the Bible.   Shame on him.  Shame

It is about not using your elevated position to spread personal beliefs. You are paid to represent the university, which stands for inclusion and fair treatment of all people. Simple as that.

He has every right to believe what he wants, and to share it as he likes, on personal time.

 

[MountainMan]

Ron Brown left for Liberty less than a month after he was asked to take sensitivity training at Youngstown State.

I'm pretty sure he won’t last a long time at Nebraska this time around. Why the University would sign off on this after their PR failures with the conservatives in the Union and the Nazi, I have no idea.

Ron Brown is who he is, but I really don't understand why the University would sign up to have to legislate this fight again. They're absolutely going to get a petition like the one Ron Brown got at YSU, and Frost is going to have to comment on it.

Now, the average Nebraskan won't care, but he's going to be in the news for stupid, off-field reasons for an own-goal that's completely unnecessary. Walters is already a FCA guy, so if you needed someone to go in Frost's place to a couple meetings, you can send him. Otherwise, just let Brown do his ministry through FCA and work with players that way, instead of giving him an office and giving the university's liberal element a target when you're clearly unprepared as an institution to deal with those issues.

This reeks as a nostalgia hire. Which Nebraska has been addicted to as a cheap cash grab for years. 

 

[RedDenver]

Ron, like the vast majority of Christians, 'hates the sin, but loves the sinner.'

If that were true, then Ron Brown should have been in favor of a law that protected the "sinners".

I'm not a big fan of this hire, but then again none of the coaches are going to be perfect. Let's see what Brown does going forward.

 

[teachercd]

Dang, I feel bad for the dude who was making 52k and Ron comes in making 180k?  Ha...

 

[Ulty]

Ron Brown left for Liberty less than a month after he was asked to take sensitivity training at Youngstown State.
 

I didn't remember this, but yep, there was backlash at YSU: http://www.thejambar.com/tressel-pelini-brown-asked-to-attend-lgbtqia-sensitivity-training/

Then I found this article by Sam McKewon, where Ron Brown's own quote shows that he relishes being able to use his position as a coach in order to promote his beliefs: https://omaha.com/huskers/ron-brown-s-switch-from-youngstown-state-to-liberty-for/article_9baeddcb-b5e9-57f8-9030-c070a19c9a14.html 

quote

“One of the mandates for me was to use the radio spots, the TV spots and the social media mechanisms that they have in a big-time way across the country and across the world in the area of sports,” Brown said.
Brown’s analogy: At Nebraska and Youngstown State, he felt as though he was using a “hand shovel to clear a driveway of snow.” At Liberty, he said, he’ll have a snowplow.

 


“It wasn’t about Turner, and it wasn’t about Bo,” Brown said. “It was the snowplow. I feel like I’ll have a national platform at Liberty at a time when people who believe like I do — in terms of Christianity — need to have voices. And I think there needs to be voices from the sports world. Liberty offers me a voice in the sports world that can go out and cover a lot of ground.
“Liberty gets to play offense. A lot of schools are playing defense with Christianity. Liberty gets to play offense, and that was a main reason why I felt led to go.”

/quote

 

[knapplc]

It's been mentioned several times in this thread, but here's Coach Brown's letter to the JournalStar readers following the 2012 issue.

I wholeheartedly agree with UNL's Non-Discrimination Policy. As a follower of Jesus Christ, and a UNL employee for twenty-two years, I haven't, nor will I violate this policy.

In 1979 I realized Christ's death and resurrection freed me from the many sins I am guilty of. I received Christ's forgiveness then and the Bible became my source of truth for every phase of life. God offers His grace to all of us. WOW!

Not all of my players have agreed with the Bible's views. One example, of many, would be those choosing heterosexual sex outside of marriage. Though the Bible teaches this as sin, I haven't penalized them with playing time or discrimination of any sort. Because I love them, I've invested in them even outside of football and gently asked them to consider God's view on it.

If I coached a gay player, because the Bible says homosexuality is a sin, I would do the same. If he didn't agree, I wouldn't penalize him with playing time or any form of discrimination.

I have and will embrace every player I coach, gay or straight ... but I won't embrace a legal policy that supports a lifestyle that God calls sin.

-- Ron Brown, private citizen of Nebraska

Oddly, though Coach Brown agree(s/d) with UNL's Non-Discrimination Policy, his statement to the City Council was to prevent a similar policy from taking effect in Omaha.

There's no apology in this letter, and no explanation of that discrepancy.

 

[Enhance]

Ron Brown left for Liberty less than a month after he was asked to take sensitivity training at Youngstown State.

This phrasing makes it seem like the university officials asked him to take the training, which I don't believe was the case (though I'm not 100% sure). I think it's important to clarify that LGBTQ advocates at YSU issued a memo to Brown, Pelini and Tressel, inviting them to take part in some 'safe zone' training in response to Brown's past. To my knowledge, they never did, though Tressel did issue a response letter stating the university had anti-discrimination policies and would investigate any claims of discrimination, or something like that.

 

[Sgt Red]

I sincerely DO NOT like this hire.  I think Coach Frost could have done much, much better.

And all I am going to say about this topic is this:

Ron Brown's stance that he's simply against LBGTQIA people because it is a "sin" against god is ludicrous.  You know what's also a "sin", an "abomination" and "disgusting" to god?  

*Eating pork, rabbit, and anything in the water that doesn't have fins and scales: shrimp, clams, mussels, lobster, crawfish, etc.

*Wearing mixed fabric clothing

*Shaving your head (Leviticus 19:27)

I'd love to tell Ron Brown where he can put his selective "I'm against ____ because it is against god's will" thinking.  Because if he was consistent, he'd be anti a lot more than just LBGTQIA.

/statement

As I said, I don't like this hire, but there's nothing I can do about it, so...  :snacks:

By making this statement you show how much you do not know about the Bible.

It kills me that people want Christians to "check their baggage" at the door or to shut up at work or in public. I don't mind that people disagree because it is part of our God given freedoms articulated in the Constitution.  I find it pitiful that there is no tolerance for the 10's of millions of guys like Ron Brown. I'm sure he would not tell you how much he would "love to tell you where to put your selective tolerance".