Marilou Braswell, the University of Georgia's cheerleader coach, has been fired after a Jewish student complained her chances of making the American Football cheerleading squad were hurt because she refused to participate in Bible studies and Christian prayers. Jaclyn Steele, 22, was on the football cheerleading squad as a freshman but was moved to the basketball cheerleading squad, a perceived demotion at the football-crazy university. Deborah Lauter, a regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said that an atmosphere was created where "if you were not Christian or didn't want to participate, you weren't treated as well as the other girls".
Steele complained to university authorities in November and Braswell was placed on probation. Steele was subsequently reinstated into the football cheerleading squad. The sacked caoch defended her actions. "I've had every religion and race you can imagine, and I love each of them", Braswell told AP. She said she allowed students to pray but that the prayers were non-sectarian, and in one instance even in Hebrew.