BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State football coach Spencer Danielson has always been open about his faith, regularly referring to Jesus Christ and religion before he answers questions about games, players, opponents and outcomes.

As a result, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for the separation of church and state has filed a complaint with Boise State regarding Danielson and his actions at a public university.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Boise State’s Office of the General Counsel this week, asking the university to “address unconstitutional religious coercion,” according to an FFRF news release.

The complaint centered specifically on Danielson’s comments during a press conference following Boise State’s season-ending loss in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. Writing to Boise State associate general counsel Texi Montoya, FFRF staff attorney Sammi Lawrence said that a “concerned university employee” reported the incident to the organization.

“We want to be a light on a hill that’s going to do football differently at Boise State,” Danielson said after that game. “It doesn’t mean it fits everybody, doesn’t mean it’s perfect, we’re going to do it differently, it’s going to be based on love.

“It’s going to be based on giving Jesus the glory. If people don’t like that, don’t come here. But if you do, it’s something that’s going to be different, I promise you.”

We’re calling on @BoiseState to address unconstitutional religious coercion within its football program after Coach Danielson publicly declared his intent to infuse the football program with Christianity, boasting that the program will give “glory to Jesus.” pic.twitter.com/xeSRcWyBmL

— FFRF (@FFRF) February 20, 2025

Many players, including 2024 team captains Ashton Jeanty and Ahmed Hassanein, have spoken positively about how Danielson affected their lives through religion.

Hassanein, originally from Egypt, said after the Fiesta Bowl, “Coach D has changed my life” and “I did not know God until I got to Boise State.”

Danielson has officiated at a player’s wedding and also baptized several Broncos.

“The coach is not only placing a Christian litmus test on potential and current student players, which is illegal, but is overtly saying nonreligious or non-Christian students are not welcome at this public university,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in the release. “University officials need to rein him in immediately before he does any more damage.”

FFRF has requested that Boise State clarify that Danielson’s comments do not reflect the school’s official policy, that his statements are ruled “out-of-bounds,” and that all students, regardless of faith, are welcome in the BSU community.

Boise State told the Idaho Statesman that it did not have any comment about the complaint.

About three weeks after the Fiesta Bowl, at the Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards, where Danielson was a finalist, he was asked what role faith plays in football and within his program.

“It’s not in an exclusive way; I’m very open,” Danielson said. “There are guys on our team who are Christian, there are guys on our team who are LDS, there are guys on our team who are Muslim, and there are guys on our team who, at this point in their life, want nothing to do with religion. All are welcome; all are loved at Boise State.”

Is Danielson violating the First Amendment?

In the letter to Boise State, FFRF noted that the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause prohibits public school administrators or employees from showing favoritism toward or coercing belief and participation in a particular religion.

The FFRF argues that Danielson’s comments after the Fiesta Bowl and his regular religious remarks throughout the season send a “clear message that participation in the football program is tied to religious belief.”

Charles Haynes, founder of the Freedom Forum’s Religious Freedom Center and a First Amendment expert, told the Statesman in an interview that “coercive behavior” occurs when someone feels they must participate in something, such as religion, to have as fair a chance as others.

“Anybody who’s been on a team like that knows you don’t want the coach to be upset with you or feel like you’re an outsider or offending,” Haynes said. “If the coach kind of makes it seem like this is the way we’re all going to be, and this is the culture of the team … this coach does seem to be saying that.”

Lawrence also wrote in the complaint that student-athletes will “no doubt feel immense pressure to go along with this proselytizing and participate in his vision of giving ‘glory to Jesus’ through the football program.”

Ahead of the 2024 season, Danielson baptized star running back Jeanty at church. He then opened the opportunity for other players to be baptized in the Boise River, just off campus, and said “13-14 players” participated.

“Some players didn’t want anything to do with it, but they wanted to watch,” Danielson said at the Bear Bryant Awards. “They wanted to support their team as they take that step to becoming the best version of themselves.”

Danielson presided over senior defensive tackle Braxton Fely’s wedding ceremony last summer and has said he reads Christian passages as inspiration in team meetings.

The mix of religion and football is nothing new, and legal cases have arisen from it. In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, Washington high school coach Joseph Kennedy claimed his First Amendment rights were violated because the school district did not allow him to pray with his team after football games.

The Supreme Court, which now has a conservative majority, ruled 6-3 in favor of Kennedy, saying he was not proselytizing and was exhibiting his personal expression, which students were allowed to join if they wanted, or simply ignore.

However, Haynes noted that Danielson’s situation is different because of how he’s leading the program, and said the Kennedy decision does not allow a coach to be involved in “pushing (their) faith” on student-athletes.

“I think there’s a good case here for coercion, frankly,” Haynes said. “It’s not like he’s done something that is a bright-line Establishment Clause violation. It’s more like he’s doing things that could rise to the level of an Establishment Clause violation.”