If one defines excellence by trophies, banners and individual accolades, Valor Christian High School is almost without peer in the state of Colorado.
The private religious school located in Highlands Ranch has won more than three dozen CHSAA state titles since opening its doors 14 years ago.
Among its many accomplished alumni: NFL All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, international women’s soccer star Janine Beckie (a recent Olympic gold medalist with Canada) and PGA Tour pro Wyndham Clark.
And yet, this week, Valor fell well short of the excellence it purports to represent after volleyball coach Inoke Tonga revealed on social media that he was pressured to resign his post because he is openly gay.
Valor Christian — F
How do we know this is what likely happened?
Valor Christian administrators all but confirmed it by a) not explicitly denying the allegation, and b) providing statements that suggested this was simply the school acting in accordance with its core set of values.
School officials confirmed to The Post’s Elizabeth Hernandez on Monday morning that they saw a Facebook post by Inoke that revealed “he may not support Valor’s beliefs pertaining to sexuality and marriage.”
And since Valor Christian staff, faculty and volunteer leaders are required to agree with and uphold those beliefs in their daily lives in order to be part of the school community, then it stands to reason that’s why Tonga was pushed to resign.
Or, as Valor administrators put it to The Post: After meeting with Inoke, the coach told them he does not support Valor’s beliefs and stepped down from his position.
We’ll put it another way: When put in the impossible situation of being asked to deny who he is (a gay man), Inoke refused and stepped away from a position he expressed to love.
As a private religious institution, legal precedent says Valor is within its right to define what is expected from its community. But it should be noted that there is zero mention of sexuality or marriage in the “Culture Document” posted to Valor Christian’s website — a 24-page declaration that defines the school’s ethics.
There is plenty of talk about “leadership,” “character” and “integrity.”
Which leaves the Grading the Week staff to wonder: Just where were those values this week? (Or when the school allegedly did the same thing with former girls lacrosse coach Lauren Benner, a gay woman, two years earlier.)
The only leadership we could find was from the members of the student body who walked out in protest Tuesday.
“My obligation as someone called to love others as the Lord does is to speak out against bigotry and stand up,” 16-year-old Lucy Sarkissian, a Valor student, told The Post’s Hernandez.
The school’s response: Curiously sending out a fleet of leaf blowers to the edge of campus at the same time those students voiced their support for Tonga across the street.
Because apparently leadership includes drowning out opposing voices in cartoonishly ineffective ways.
“Valor Christian High School embraces, loves and respects all students, families and other participants in our community, regardless of whether or not they agree with Valor’s beliefs,” Valor Christian’s statement this week read.
Embraces them so much that they force them to deny their true selves.
Loves them so much that they refuse to listen their concerns.
Respects them so much that they tell them to leave.
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Grading the Week: Valor Christian falls well short of standard of excellence it purports to represent - The Denver Post
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