Grand Rapids West Catholic High School, softball coach sever ties over conflicting views on marriage

Kristen Nelson announced that she has stepped down as West Catholic’s softball coach.

Nelson explained on Facebook that school and Grand Rapids Diocese officials informed her that her upcoming same sex marriage was contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nelson could not be reached for comment, but she wrote on Facebook that her views and the views of the Catholic Church on marriage ultimately resulted in her resignation.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am writing you this letter,” Nelson wrote on Facebook. “In recent weeks, a parent concern regarding my personal life and relationship has started an unpleasant conversation within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids. Throughout the course of those conversations, it was made known to me that my future plans to marry my significant other, Maria, were ‘concerning’ to them. It has been made clear to me through conversations I have had with the leadership at West Catholic, that both they and the Diocese ‘teach a single view of marriage’ and that if I were to continue with my and Maria’s decisions to get married, I would not be able to continue coaching at West Catholic High School.”