JONESBORO – Arkansas State University will modify helmet decals that honor former player Markel Owens and former equipment manager Barry Weyer after receiving a complaint that the decal in the shape of a cross is a violation of the separation of church and state.
The cross on the back of the helmets has Owens’ initials on one side and Weyer’s initials on the other.
ASU athletic director Terry Mohajir said in a statement Wednesday that the university’s legal counsel advised that the decal be modified of removed. Mohajir said the decal will be modified and used to remember Owens and Weyer.
Owens was shot to death in January during a home invasion at his parents’ home in Tennessee. Weyer died in an auto accident near Paragould in June.
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.)
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