Colorado high school volleyball coach Inoke Tonga is accusing his former employer of forcing him to resign over his sexuality.- Tonga said Valor
Christian administrators "grilled" him about how being gay posed a "danger" to the school. - A second former employee of the school has since said she was also fired because of her sexuality.
A Colorado high school volleyball coach is accusing his former employers of forcing him to leave his post because of his sexuality.
In a Facebook post published August 21, volleyball coach Inoke Tonga described how he was told by school staff that his being gay posed a "danger" to the students he coached at the Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch. He detailed what happened during a tense August 19 meeting with a campus pastor and the school's athletic director, where he was questioned about his sexuality.
Tonga said he started coaching the boys' volleyball team at Valor Christian last year and was approached to teach the girls' team this season. But during the August 19 meeting, Tonga said he was told: "parents pay too much money to have their kids be coached and taught by someone like you who identifies as a gay man."
He added that the campus pastor who was speaking to him would "purposely and ignorantly" say the term LGBTQ incorrectly, referring to Tonga's sexuality as "LGGTBG or whatever."
The volleyball coach said the two school administrators threw down an ultimatum during the meeting - if he wanted to continue coaching the volleyball team, he would have to "denounce being gay" and "become a child of God."
"I sat in that room for an hour and a half being belittled by men who knew nothing about who I am, what I've done in life, what obstacles I've overcome, the understanding I have of the living scriptures, and more importantly the love I have for my savior and lord, God," Tonga wrote.
A second coach steps forward, accusing Valor Christian of discrimination
Tonga told CNN that he refused to denounce being gay, and knew his career as a coach at the school was over.
But after Tonga's account made the
"It was the most cherished coaching role I ever had," Benner said about her time as a coach back in 2017. "I can't tell you the joy those girls and their families brought me."
Valor Christian did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
In a statement to the Colorado Sun, the school's marketing coordinator Nancy Columbia said: "As a Christian faith community, Valor requires its staff, faculty, and volunteer leaders - those who represent the Valor community and guide the spiritual development of our students - to agree with Valor's Christian beliefs set forth in our Statement of Beliefs and in other policies, and to live in accordance with such beliefs."
Columbia said that the school noticed that Tonga's posts on Facebook suggested that his views on sexuality and marriage did not align with Valor Christian's beliefs.
"Although Coach Inoke has misrepresented many aspects of this matter, Valor appreciates the contributions he has made to the student-athletes in our volleyball program, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors," Columbia added.
There has been an outpouring of support for Tonga at Valor Christian. Dozens of students walked out of class on August 24 to protest Tonga being forced to resign, waving placards reading: "We want our coach back," "Love is love," and "Religion is not an excuse."
A Google document detailing the experiences of LGBTQ students at Valor Christian and the discrimination they say they faced was also started by Cole Watson, a former student. At press time, the document contained over 40 students' accounts.
"This school pushed me to suicidal ideation, and it took me YEARS to recover. This has to change. WE have to change it," Watson wrote in the document.
The school's website details its vision as being to "prepare tomorrow's leaders to transform the world for Christ." It has a student population of fewer than 1,000 students across the 9th to 12th grades. Annual tuition for the school is $21,110 a year.