N.Va. debate teams decide to boycott tournament at Liberty University

Posted: Friday, April 15, 2016 6:12 pm

Associated Press |

Several Northern Virginia high school debate teams said they will boycott the state championships at Liberty University, whose president, Jerry Falwell Jr., made a speech in December that many saw as threatening to Muslims. ... Debate coaches and students have been lobbying the Virginia High School League, the nonprofit that oversees state interscholastic sports and academic competitions, to move the state championship to another location. Liberty University is a private, evangelical mega-university in Lynchburg.

The calls to move the tournament, which is scheduled to kick off next week, came after Falwell said at the university’s convocation in December that students should arm themselves to “end those Muslims.” Falwell later clarified his remarks to say he was referring to Islamic terrorists, not all Muslims.

In the wake of the backlash over his remarks, some debate coaches wrote to VHSL about their concerns and started a Facebook group urging the organization to move the tournament. Others gathered their teams, many of which have Muslim students on their rosters, and allowed students to decide what would happen.

Students from at least five Northern Virginia high schools have decided to boycott the championship, forgoing participation in the state’s premier debate tournament. Coaches said Muslim students expressed deep concerns about their comfort and safety at the university campus. And students — Muslim and non-Muslim alike — wanted to take a stand against what they regard as anti-Islam rhetoric.