After spending months training for a big regional race in Kentucky, Codie Thacker, a high school cross country runner dropped out at the last minute.
Her reason was simple. Thacker didn't want to risk her faith because she was assigned to have the number "666" on her back. In the Book of Revelation, the number "666" represents the beast.
"I didn't want to risk my relationship with God and try to take that number," Thacker said, according to AZCentral.com.
The runner's coach, Gina Croley, already had the feeling her runner won't compete upon seeing the number.
"I saw it and I was like, 'whoa,'" she said, according to WLEX-TV. "I don't think she will wear that number."
Croley spoke to officials of Kentucky High School Athletic Association to have the number of her runner changed but to no avail. The officials denied her request, thus the withdrawal of Thacker.
"Whenever I didn't get to do it, of course, I was upset, because I'd trained all season for it. But in another sense I stood up for my beliefs and I stood up for God,” Thacker said, according to WKYT-TV.
A spokesperson for the KHSAA said that race officials would have granted Thacker’s request had they been made aware it was for religious reasons, UPI.com reported.
