teacher fired for being pregnant out of wedlock.

[973beachbum]

Should this be legal? It was a Christan school. The school even gave her an award of coach of the year. In my mind it actually leaves me with more questions than answers. Such as

Would they have fired her is she had had an abortion? They wouldn't have known, so I can't see why they would have.

Would they have fired a man who got someone pregnant? Again I don't see how they would have known.

If someone on the faculty had done something else deemed "unchristian" would that merit a termination?

sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/former-coach-fired-christian-school-wedlock-pregnancy-145601399.html

[chiver78]

well, it is a private school. were there rules of conduct that she agreed to live by when she was hired?

personally, I wouldn't work at a place that had a rule that I could not become pregnant out of wedlock b/c I don't feel it's any of their business.

[CarolinaKat]

I agree with Chiver. If it was a public school then HELL NO, but as a private school if she signed a contract with that clause she kind of did it to herself. One would hope they'd be consistent in enforcement of a 'morality' clause.

FWIW I think it's a horrible thing to do even if she did sign herself into that corner.

[973beachbum]

Chiver the school has a general "morals clause" in their contracts. It doesn't define what that means.

So I end up back to my original thought that all the people who had sex before marriage and got a women pregnant are fine as well as all the female employees that had an abortion.

Is requiring an employee to have an abortion to keep their job really the Christian values they want the students to learn?

[chiver78]

well, no. I would expect the school to have the viewpoint that a) she shouldn't have been having premarital sex in the first place, and b) that since she messed up, that the father would do the responsible thing and marry her like they did back in the day.

like I said, I wouldn't work at a place that had a morality clause for that stuff unless I absolutely couldn't find anything else. I hope she lands on her feet somewhere.

[CarolinaKat]

I think it's easier to get caught by a morality clause if you choose to keep a pregancy, but I think they would fire anyone screwing around while unmarried or married to someone else if they had proof or maybe even a strong suspicion

I do wish the girl the best.

[thyme4change]

I'm guessing the catholic church would fire a Nun if she got pregnant, or a priest if he went out over the weekend and got married. Yes, I think this is perfectly acceptable.

[wvugurl26]

While it is unfortunate the general morality clause could be intended to cover this.

Thats basically what Petrino was fired from Arkansas for. His contract had something similar that he wouldn't do anything to hurt their reputation, etc.

[973beachbum]

Apr 12, 2012 8:24:04 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I'm guessing the catholic church would fire a Nun if she got pregnant, or a priest if he went out over the weekend and got married. Yes, I think this is perfectly acceptable.

But she isn't either a nun or a priest she is a teacher. And according to the school a pretty good one.

Personally I am a bitch. Because I would be using my last nickle to get every peice of dirt on every member of thet admin and staff. We all know that a bunch of them are screwing around and pretending to be better than the rest of us. I would make itmy business to expose every last one of them.

[chiver78]

Apr 12, 2012 8:24:31 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

Thats basically what Petrino was fired from Arkansas for. His contract had something similar that he wouldn't do anything to hurt their reputation, etc.

is that how they got him? I hadn't heard that, but I haven't been paying very close attention either. interesting...

[Deleted]

Apr 12, 2012 8:24:04 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I'm guessing the catholic church would fire a Nun if she got pregnant, or a priest if he went out over the weekend and got married. Yes, I think this is perfectly acceptable.

Well, both of them would be cheating on their spouse (god, as it were).

[973beachbum]

Apr 12, 2012 8:24:31 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

While it is unfortunate the general morality clause could be intended to cover this.

Thats basically what Petrino was fired from Arkansas for. His contract had something similar that he wouldn't do anything to hurt their reputation, etc.

Didn't he get fired for hiring his girlfriend and lying on her application to do it? Or is a different case.

[wvugurl26]

He was fired for having a relationship with her and hiring her bc that wasn't the nice moral image Arkansas wanted to promote. From the time the story broke people were saying that clause was the only way Arkansas could fire him.

[973beachbum]

Apr 12, 2012 8:39:00 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

He was fired for having a relationship with her and hiring her bc that wasn't the nice moral image Arkansas wanted to promote. From the time the story broke people were saying that clause was the only way Arkansas could fire him.

I was reading that it was the easiest reason. They said the real reason was the hiring of his girlfriend while lying about his relationship so he could get her the job.

Then again positions at colleges are almost always political, but it doesn't look good when the whole world now knows that someone was hired just because she was boinking the head coach.

[wvugurl26]

It is probably the best explanation they can give for firing him that would hold up in court and fly with their supporters. Arkansas is favored to win the SEC in 2012. I imagine a whole lot of football supporters couldn't give a rat's ass about who Petrino is doing on the side.

[wvugurl26]

Apr 12, 2012 8:27:18 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Apr 12, 2012 8:24:31 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

Thats basically what Petrino was fired from Arkansas for. His contract had something similar that he wouldn't do anything to hurt their reputation, etc.

is that how they got him? I hadn't heard that, but I haven't been paying very close attention either. interesting...

There was some sort of clause in his contract that he couldn't do anything that might be detrimental to the reputation of Arkansas and Arkansas football.

[Deleted]

The problem with "morality" clauses is that are applied unfairly and not across the board. It is easy to hone in on a pregnant woman. But, are there men there who have cheated on their wives, had sex out of wedlock, got drunk at the bar, smoke, gambled online, or on and on? And, what is the purpose of a Christian school anyway? To demonstrate that only Perfect people have a right to exist? OR to show that while we may make mistakes in life, we can learn from them and move on and it will make us better people. I wonder how many divorced people work at the school. Should they be fired? Isn't divorce a sin? How about gluttony? Last time i checked, it was a sin. So, anyone with a hefty BMI should be out the door. Those who agree with her firing, where do you draw the line between one's personal and professional life?

[Deleted]

Again, fine. But, do it to EVERYONE. I find that they look the other way at some things and turn other things into a big hairy deal. That is what i am opposed too.

[chiver78]

Apr 12, 2012 9:26:03 GMT -5 @shooby said:

Again, fine. But, do it to EVERYONE. I find that they look the other way at some things and turn other things into a big hairy deal. That is what i am opposed too.

but she agreed to live by the rules. she knew what she was walking into.

that doesn't mean I agree with the rules. like I said, I wouldn't have taken a job there.

[marvholly]

I suspect that said teacher is in BIG discussion w/a lawyer & a couple private investigators right about now.

[Deleted]

I don't know. I think for employment, the line should be drawn on how well you perform your job. And, i bet with a little bit of digging, i could walk into that school and call out every single person there for some past or present sin.

[Deleted]

And, anyone with even a basic understanding of Christianity has to acknowledge that we are sinners. And, perfect people don't exist. Of course, she did know the rules up front or maybe not? Or, can she say, Joe had an affair and you didn't fire him but you fired me for being pregnant? Again, i think that it really gets very difficult to draw that line.

[Deleted]

Also, what is the message they are sending anyway? If you are a woman who gets pregnant out of wedlock then you are a bad person and not worthy of being part of a Christian organization? They may actually be sending a message they don't intend.

[bean29]

I thought Petrino was fired because he lied about her being with him/his relationship with her/trying to cover up the truth about the accident. It is the old if I can't trust you to tell me the truth about one thing I can trust you about anything line of thinking.

I think in general, Men get away with having an affair with no consequences. They ask for forgiveness and it is given. If a woman turns up pg and unmarried its no job and the Scarlett letter for her.

Look at the Pedophile issue in the Catholic Church. Were the Pedophiles fired - No. Were they excommunicated no, they were moved into positions where they have no contact with children when the issue was brought to the public and the Catholic Church was forced into a corner. Their next step was to go on a campaign to control Women even further.

When I was a young married person my Mom's friend got divorced b/c she found out her husband was having a long term affair with a co-worker. They had 7 children. Many people in their church circle knew of the affair. One Christmas my Mom told me her friend had attended a party and been faced with her ex-and the woman he had an affair with. The Host/Hostess knew exactly what they were doing. I asked my Mom what message that was sending to the Host/Hostesses kids. I think my Mom brought it up to them b/c that was the last year that this couple was invited to the annual Christmas Party at their home.

People that have affairs disgust me. If your married life is that bad, remove yourself from the relationship and then move on to another relationship. Sex outside of marriage is a non-issue for me. I think children should optimally be brought into the world in a committed relationship, but it is not the end of the world if it does not happen that way. It would be worse to expect people to stay in bad and or abusive relationships forever.

[Green Eyed Lady]

Being obese doesn't display a lack of morals - it just displays a lack of self-control (in some cases). Being pregnant out of wedlock displays a lack of morals (to the people in charge). She signed the contract. She violated it. I'm probably going to catch all kinds of flak for this and that ok. Teachers, like it or not, are role models. Some of mine certainly were. I would not want to have my daughter think that being pregnant out of wedlock is an ok thing to do. Because I don't think it is. Not everybody agrees with that and that's ok, too. I have a right to my opinion and the school administrators of a Christian school have the right to their rules, as has been decided by just about every court its been tried before.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

How did they know she wasn't married? Really curious how that got leaked because if I didn't wear my wedding bands no one would have any clue if I was married or not besides the benefits office and it's not my employers damn business beyond needing that information for benefits enrollment.

The benefits office can't leak that information to anyone. So how did her employer know she wasn't married?

This is one of the sucky things when you work for private schools. I had a morality clause in my contract as well, fortunately it was never brought into play. They can get away with A LOT that public schools can't.

I agree they are applied unevenly but it's a lot easier to hide from your employers that you are cheating than it is to hide you are pregnant unfortunately.

[Green Eyed Lady]

I don't think so, Shooby. I understand your point, but I don't think this is the message they are conveying at all. They are saying that their teachers (ministers, etc.) - people who teach and minister - are held to a higher standard. That is their right. I don't think they are condemning every pregnant woman.

[Deleted]

Well, how is her hiring any different than friends, buddies, relatives or anyone else "in the know" gets hired? It isn't her fault so she should not be fired. And, if you can't hire cronies, then don't let them hire cronies. Again, i get tired of the "rules apply to thee but not to me" kind of thing.

[econstudent]

In my Christian school growing up, a teacher got suspended for a couple weeks for kissing her boyfriend in the park. That school was way out there in terms of rules and control of students and faculty's lives. I think it should be legal as long as the school had defined what the conditions of employment were, but that isn't an organization I would want to be a part of.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

It's a risk you take working for a private reliigous school. They make their own rules and you need to know what they are. You take a risk every time you violate them.

One of the reasons my former boss left is because of all the religious restrictions put on research at the school I used to work at. He moved to a state university so he could continue to progress in his research.

If he had continued there he would have been fired and they were will within their rights because it states you can't do that based on current catholic doctrine rules.

Same goes here. She should have known the rules for working at this institution and she took the risk of getting pregnant out of wedlock.

While I think morality clauses are a bunch of freaking bullshit, if you have one in your contract you have to abide by it no matter how much you disagree with it.

Keep your nose clean and your mouth shut when you work under a morality clause.