Many Mason staff members and students were surprised and offended by the location of the State Semi-Finals, in which the Boys Basketball team played in on Friday, March 16. The tournament was held at Liberty University, a private school in Lynchburg, Virginia, whose Chancellor is Rev. Jerry Falwell. The controversy surrounding the game sprung from remarks Falwell has made in the past, including a comment made a week before the game concerning the Moslem religion.

"I picked up a complimentary USA Today from the hotel I was staying at in Roanoke and I was appalled to read Jerry Falwell’s statement that ‘the Moslem faith teaches hate,’" said Mason Principal Robert Snee. Snee, appalled by the comment, was astounded that a public school championship athletic tournament would be held at Liberty, so he wrote a letter to the Director and Assistant Director of the Virginia High School League (VHSL).

"Like many of my fellow principals in Virginia, I serve Muslim students and their families and I have Muslims on my staff. Even if that were not the case, my sensibilities as a caring professional would be and are deeply offended by such a bigoted, intolerant remark. I feel I know my colleagues and our students well enough to say that speaking on behalf of my school, we as an institution are so offended as well," Snee wrote in the letter.

VHSL picks the spot of the State Championships, and they generally select venues in the middle of Virginia, so as not to give an advantage to any team. Lynchburg is considered in that region, has ample parking, and is cheap—all the things VHSL looks for when deciding on a location. Despite these qualities, many people at Mason felt like because of Jerry Falwell’s comments, Liberty University was an inappropriate place for the game. "What he said was wrong, and I don’t think we should subject our students to that kind of bigotry," said English teacher Bridget Dean-Pratt.

"Mr. Snee did the right thing by writing the letter, even if the location couldn’t be changed, something needed to said," said sophomore Leah Ralph. "It’s good we took a stand, we don’t believe what he believes," said sophomore Kristen Janski.

In writing the letter to the VHSL directors, Snee understood that it would be a
"logistical nightmare" to try and change the location of the game. "I suspect that a change of venue for next weekend’s state tournaments is a near-impossible proposition. Such lack of feasibility, however, does not keep me from asking that you do move the tournament to another site and that you move other scheduled VHSL-sponsored events from that site as well," wrote Snee.

The State Semi-Finals, as well as the Finals were held at Liberty University as planned. Perhaps next time though, VHSL will not choose Liberty as a place for public school tournaments, in part because of Snee’s letter. "The best thing to do in the face of intolerance is to practice tolerance," advised Snee.