Valor Christian coach says he was forced to resign because he is gay – The Denver Post
The volleyball coach at Highlands Ranch’s Valor Christian High School said he was pushed out of his job last week after employees found a social media post indicating the coach was gay.
“I sat in the room being grilled about how being gay is a ‘danger’ to the school and to the kids,” Inoke Tonga’s Instagram post explaining the situation said. “That with me ‘identifying as a gay man, they can’t put the kids at risk by having me in front of them.’”
Tonga, who was the volleyball coach for the 2020-21 school year only, said the campus pastor and athletic director called him in for a meeting Thursday, during which they berated and belittled him over his sexual orientation and informed him that “parents pay too much” to have their kids coached by a gay man and perhaps Tonga wasn’t gay since he had a love for the children he coached.
Toward the end of the conversation, first reported by Denver7, Tonga said school officials told him he had two options: Denounce being a gay man or leave the position.
“One of them even said ‘I don’t want to seem like I’m hanging a coaching position over your head to ‘convert’ you, but we just can’t have you in front of the kids if you identify that way,’” Tonga wrote. “The other followed by saying ‘and we will make an email for you to send out and make sure that it states that you are away for personal matters, so that way when you make your decision to accept God and our help, you can come back and they don’t have to know of your spiritual battle.’”
Valor Christian school officials confirmed Monday morning that they saw a Facebook post by Inoke that “suggested he may not support Valor’s beliefs pertaining to sexuality and marriage.”
The school did not specify when the Facebook post went up. But in a June 15 post, Tonga wrote: “If you really want to see the lack of charity, love, and compassion (or any ‘Christ Like’ attributes) in any Christian individual, from any Christian religion, tell them you’re gay. Fair warning though, if you don’t like passive aggressive comments, do not do it. For whatever reason, talking about racism, and homosexuality will bring out the best, but also the worst in people.”
In Valor Christian’s statement provided by marketing coordinator Nancy Columbia, school officials said they requires its staff, faculty and volunteer leaders to agree with Valor’s Christian beliefs set forth in their statement of belief and to live in accordance with it.
Valor Christian said that after its discussion with Inoke, the coach told them he does not support Valor’s beliefs and requested a separation from the school.
“Valor Christian High School embraces, loves and respects all students, families and other participants in our community, regardless of whether or not they agree with Valor’s beliefs,” Valor Christian’s statement said. “Although Coach Inoke has misrepresented many aspects of this matter, Valor appreciates the contributions he has made to the student athletes in our volleyball program, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Tonga said he is speaking out as a role model to his students and prays Valor Christian students and faculty “silently battling accepting who they are, realize that the morals of the school and the beliefs of certain individuals do not get to decide if they are worthy of God’s love.”
“I speak out because I have taught my kids (yes these kids are MY KIDS) to embrace who they are, and learn to love themselves,” Tonga wrote on social media. “To stick up for one another and to stand up against those who harm any of their own. I speak out for once in my life, to show MY KIDS that I too, have to live up to the expectations I have set forth for them.”
This is a developing story that will be updated.