New Mexico State University and football coach Hal Mumme have reached a settlement with four former football players who alleged they were forced from the team because they were Muslim.
The announcement comes days before the trial was scheduled to begin on Monday.
Under the agreement, the terms of the settlement will be kept confidential for six months. The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the suit on the behalf of the four players, announced the settlement in a news release. The university has scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference to discuss the settlement.
“We are pleased with the outcome,” said ACLU cooperating attorney Joleen Youngers. “While we were eager to present our clients’ case to a jury, we would be foolish to turn our backs on a reasonable resolution outside of the courtroom.”
ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson said the settlement “vindicated the rights of our clients.”
The suit was brought by the ACLU against the university and Mumme on behalf of former players Mu’Ammar Ali, Anthony and Vincent Thompson and Jacob Wallace, who alleged that Mumme forced them from the team because they are Muslim. The university originally denied the allegations and said the players were dismissed because of poor performance and attitude.
But the players said Mumme emphasized Christian prayer and belief and made comments disparaging Islam. He also displayed, they alleged, indifference to the players’ faith-based dietary restrictions and disciplined them more harshly than non-Muslim players.
The agreement comes days after Mumme’s attorney made a settlement offer. The settlement does not include an admission of guilt.
“The circumstances that gave rise to this suit demonstrate the importance of keeping government out of religion,” Simonson said. “When one person uses his or her privileged position as a government official to advertise their specific religious views, it diminishes religious freedom for all of us, whether we are Muslim, Christian or of any other denomination.”