The head football coach for Heritage High School in Georgia has been suspended from all football-related activities for one week after he assaulted one of his players, WRCB TV reports.
According to witness accounts, E.K. Slaughter grabbed a player’s helmet and shoved him during a game this Friday. \
This isn’t the first time Slaughter has made headlines regarding his actions on the field. In 2016, a Facebook video showing Slaughter conducting a mass baptism of his players went viral, sparking a debate over the separation between church and state.
“Alright, let’s go, let’s do this,” head coach E.K. Slaughter said in the video as the baptism was about to begin. “Thanks for having the courage to take this step. We talked the other day — for those who weren’t in our team meeting — I was just sharing with them, you don’t realize characteristics that certain people have until you don’t have them anymore. And just reflecting over the last week with KB [Katie Beth] and just how loving she was and how servient she was… I thought it was kind of poetic that the girl who brought water to us for the last two years, we have water here for you guys.”
According to a Vocativ report at the time, the baptism was held in honor of Katie Beth Carter, a graduate of the high school who was killed in a car accident nine days before the baptism took place.
Writing for the Friendly Atheist., Hemant Mehta says the event was “undoubtedly illegal, no matter how good anyone’s intentions were.”
“It wasn’t student-led. Staffers paid by the District were encouraging students to join their religion. If we were talking about any religion besides Christianity, that would be obvious to anyone.”
In a statement regarding the assault, school principle Ronnie Bradford suggested that Slaughter had already been forgiven, despite his light punishment.
“We expect every member of the Heritage High School staff to adhere to the highest professional standards in all of their interactions with our students, the statement read. “Coach Slaughter quickly realized that his actions were wrong and apologized to the player involved and his family. We addressed his actions, and he will be suspended from football for one week.”
Featured image via screen grab/WRCB TV
