Supporters of Amanda Kammes say that the lacrosse coach was offered a job at Benet Academy, but the Catholic school in Lisle, Ill., rescinded the offer after officials learned she was gay.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Benet Academy lacrosse assistant coach Colleen Savell said Kammes received an offer to coach lacrosse at Benet Academy about two weeks ago. After Kammes filled out a background check and listed her wife as an emergency contact, Savell said that Benet Academy rescinded the job offer.
Upon allegations of the rescinded job going public, Benet spokesperson Jamie Moss emailed Benet Academy families to say, “Benet academy respects the dignity of all human beings to follow their conscience and to live lives of their choosing. Likewise, as a Catholic school, we employ individuals whose lives manifest the essential teachings of the Church in order to provide the education and faith formation of the young people entrusted to our care.”
Before students protested outside the school Monday, Benet Academy head of school Stephen Marth issued a statement Sunday saying, “a recent decision that was made based on the policies of the Academy, Abbey and Diocese, as well as the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
A two-time state champion lacrosse coach in Pennsylvania, Kammes most recently coached at Montini Catholic High School and the Lakeshore Lacrosse program in Illinois. A petition calling for Kammes’ reinstatement and more inclusive policies at Benet reads, “By rejecting a talented potential staff member on the basis of whom she loves, you have utterly failed to uphold the principles of dignity and charity that you purport to practice as Christian institution. We are ashamed of your narrow interpretation of Christian morality.”
The Benet Academy board of directors was scheduled to meet Monday night, with the school saying it would release a statement Tuesday.
