Las Cruces, USA - Three former New Mexico State University football players -- all Muslims -- on Monday sued the university and coach Hal Mumme, alleging they were dismissed from the team because of their religious beliefs.
The federal lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Mu'Ammar Ali and brothers Anthony and Vincent Thompson. The lawsuit alleges religious discrimination and violations of the athletes' right to freely exercise their religion.
The suit claims that Mumme, who was hired by New Mexico State in January 2005, instituted a "religious brotherhood'' within the football team and singled out Muslim athletes on the team.
"Universities are supposed to be places of evolved thinking and reason, not of base intolerance and bigotry'' said Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU New Mexico. "They are supposed to rise above the knee-jerk prejudices that sometimes afflict our society. In this case, the university failed its purpose and a coach indulged in those prejudices to assert his own religious preferences over the players and the team.''
Bruce Kite, the school's general counsel, said he had not seen the lawsuit.
"I really don't know what the allegations are. To say anything at this point and time would not be appropriate,'' Kite told The Associated Press.
Besides Mumme, the lawsuit also names the NMSU board of regents and William V. Flores, the school's vice president and provost.
The lawsuit said Mumme had players recite the Lord's Prayer after each practice and before each game. Ali and the Thompsons said that practice made them feel like outcasts and caused them to pray separately from the other players.
According to the lawsuit, not long after Mumme learned that Ali and the Thompsons were Muslim, he prohibited the Thompsons from attending the team's spring 2005 training camp and questioned Ali about his attitudes toward al-Qaida.
The lawsuit says the Thompsons were dismissed from the team on Sept. 2, 2005, allegedly because they moved their belongings to an unapproved locker and were labeled "troublemakers."
The lawsuit said Ali, the Aggies' leading rusher in 2004, found out he was being dismissed from the team via a telephone message from Mumme on Oct. 9, 2005. Ali is currently attending Portland State and is expected to be the Vikings' starting halfback when they open the season Saturday against New Mexico.
Simonson said the Thompson brothers also had transferred to Portland State.
The players are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The ACLU last year filed a grievance against Mumme, alleging he repeatedly questioned Ali about al-Qaida.
In response to the allegations, New Mexico State hired an Albuquerque law firm to investigate and the law firm concluded the football program had not engaged in religious discrimination against the three Muslim athletes.
The investigation by Albuquerque law firm Miller Stratvery found that the players were released from the team based on their performance and attitudes, not because of religion. The probe included interviews with the football coaching staff, athletics department personnel and student-athletes.
Simonson at the time questioned the fairness of the investigation.
"I think it's very troubling that the university could not find any basis for these allegations whatsoever when three very sincere individuals came forward with such serious allegations,'' he said. "It really raises questions in my mind about the university's commitment to diversity and racial equality and issues of equality.''
The ACLU last year sought a public apology from Mumme and disciplinary action against him. It also asked that the school provide diversity training to all students and employees.
Simonson said Monday the school's failure to take action against Mumme and the conclusions reached by the law firm NMSU hired were factors in the decision to file the lawsuit.
"That definitely contributed to the decision because basically the university dismissed what were very credible complaints. The only resource left to us was a lawsuit," Simonson said.
"When you've got players reporting that the coach is having players recite the Lord's Prayer as a routine practice ... that in itself suggests a discriminatory environment," he said.
Mumme said during a news conference last November that he apologized to his team for any unintentional actions on his part that may have offended anyone.