UPDATE: I was just about to hit publish when Twitter went crazy. Apparently after 24 hours of chaos, University of Maryland President Wallace Loh ended up firing head coach DJ Durkin. What remains to be seen is if that came with a green light from the Board of Regents or if after a night’s sleep (or insomnia) he decided to take matters into his own hands. Much of what I wrote below still applies.

Back in June of this year, Jordan McNair collapsed of heat stroke during football practice at the University of Maryland. He would die of that incident due to the lack of professional care given to him by the training staff at the university and the culture in which the head coach DJ Durkin had created at the school.

During the follow-up investigation, the football culture at Maryland was discovered to be Lord of the Flies on steroids. Coaches and trainers had created a culture full of hazing, bullying, fat-shaming, and insults. They would show inappropriate videos to students in order to ‘motivate’ them to be more ‘manly.’ You can read the report for yourself, but I warn you it is not for the faint of heart.

After 4 months of deliberation, the Board of Regents released their findings yesterday in a disastrous press conference led by Board chair James Brady. Not only did the Regents tell President Wallace Loh to retain both the head coach and the athletic director, they told him that if he fired them, he would be replaced. Chair James Brady furthermore showed his cluelessness with inappropriate humor, one-liners, and the comment of “there will be no THIRD chances” during the rest of his press conference.

It was infuriating and unfortunately just another example of disastrous athletic programs running wild. The fact that they are all happening in the Big Ten should not be lost in all of this. In fact, the Big Ten may seriously want to consider realignment. Just put Penn State, Rutgers, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Maryland in the “We Harm Students” division.

The bigger issue here is the lack of courage and basic morality in the whole system that is on display for all to see. The Board of Regents can only hire and fire the President of the University, not the staff. So they lean on the President to keep the coach and AD. The president announces he will retire at end of school year. So nobody is held accountable. Nobody stands up with courage and does the right thing.

What we should have heard from Maryland University President Wallace Loh was, “There are times when leaders do the right thing no matter what it costs. As a president of a university, I’m entrusted to create a safe environment for all students. That can’t happen as long as these two men are employed by this University. And if this costs me my job, I will be able to sleep at night knowing I did the right thing.”

Instead we get, “I’m going to keep my job until June.”

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing. Edward Burke

I do not know the faith status of any of these men in this drama. I don’t think this particular situation requires someone to have a faith in order to do the right thing.

But I do know that living out our faith as Christ-followers may just put us in exactly these kinds of situations. Do the right thing or get fired. It’s not new. In the Old Testament book of Daniel, we discover three Jewish boys who found themselves in one heck of a situation. Kneel down to worship an idol of gold or be thrown in a furnace.

They knew their faith was going to cost them something – from being on the King’s staff to being thrown in a furnace. And when you read the story (Daniel 3), you’ll notice something about their faith. They don’t presume God is going to rescue them just because they are standing for Him.

But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. Daniel 3:18

I think given our current culture, Christ-followers will find themselves more and more in this kind of situation. There will always be people in positions of authority who make decisions with no moral compass, with no sense of right and wrong. Because of this, I believe God has sprinkled His people into some of these circumstances to be courageous agents of change, to be the voice of right and wrong, to protect the vulnerable.

But as Christ-followers, we must know that this will come at a cost to us. It will require the kind of strength it took to look into the eyes of a furnace and say – “I’m with God. Bring it on.”

I think our culture is dying for this kind of leadership right now. Our Savior died to give it to them.