An athletic director at a private school in Prattville, Alabama was forced to resign for not wanting to be a member of the school’s church.

Scott Phillips said we he was offered the position of AD at East Memorial Christian Academy in June 2012, and told that he must start attending the school’s baptist church.

The administrator, assistant administrator, athletic director and daycare director are all supposed to be members of it’s church, according to an undocumented school policy.

Out of the game: Coach Phillips on the East Memorial court before he was forced to resign because of his wavering church loyalties

Christian values: Phillips and his wife Teri Grisham Phillips. For a year Phillips would take his family to church service at both East Memorial and the Church of the Highlands

Phillips had previously taught Bible and science, and was the boys basketball coach as well as an assistant football coach.

For the first year Phillips tried to make it work, taking his family to the 9am service at East Memorial Baptist before ferrying them to the 11am service at Church of the Highlands in Montgomery.

But at the end of the year he was tired of his double-church life. He went to school administrators asking for permission to go back to his old congregation.

‘In a nutshell, I told them I miss my old church,’ Phillips told the Montgomery Advertiser. ‘I went in to share my heart to a pastor. Knowing what might happen, but kind of saying, “Maybe we can work something out?’”

Strict school: Phillips tried to reason with school administrators to let him be demoted so he could continue coaching, but they refused

Faithful: Phillips just wanted to go to his own church, Church of the Highlands in Montgomery, Alabama

Phillips said his confession was not well received.

Phillips didn’t hear back from school administrators until the end of June, when they met twice. At the second meeting Phillips was forced to resign.

And though he was never a member of the school’s church before he became AD, the school refused to compromise on keeping him employed. Phillips asked to be demoted so could he continue to teach and coach basketball but they said no.

What makes Phillips most upset is the fact that the church membership was not discussed more or spelled out in his contract.

Taken out: Phillips also served as an assistant coach of the football team

‘If it had have been in my contract, I possibly would have not taken the job,’ Phillips said. ‘I was totally committed to East Memorial (the school). I thought I did enough to prove I didn’t have to be a member to do my job effectively.’

‘It was made very clear when we hired Phillips that the AD position is required to be a faithful member of our sponsoring church East Memorial Baptist Church.’

But Phillips still doesn’t understand how he lost his job because of his faith.

‘I was an advocate of East Memorial as the athletic director. That’s what I thought my role was,’ he said.

Read more: Daily Mail