One week after a Clarksville high school football coach and school resource officer, Trey Campbell, left a game amid concerns he was promoting his faith in his official role, members of his community gathered to support him. The gathering included distributing Bibles before a Northwest High School game. The prayer event was organized by Tres Wittum, a candidate for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.
Wittum said he has been advocating for placing Bibles in schools, and noted that while he discusses faith publicly, Coach Campbell was “tested in his faith” that Friday night. Campbell works as both a coach and a school resource officer under the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, witnesses reported that Campbell carried a Bible for most of the school day and shared scripture with students. Those same witnesses said he led prayers with players on the sidelines and participated in a “faith over fear” chant during the game crowd. When some spectators asked him to stop, he left the game on his own.
The school system noted that public employees are not permitted to use their official roles to promote religion in school settings. After the incident Campbell received a few paid days off so he could process the situation but he remains employed in his position.