After being told he has no jurisdiction over God, Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said he found God in Nebraska.
He hasn't become a born-again Christian. He says he has located God and filed a second lawsuit in the Douglas County District Court - this time against "God (a.k.a 'Tom Osborne'), Defendant."
This time, Chambers' goal is to tackle Cornhusker fans and their glorifying of former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, who returned to Nebraska as interim athletic director following the firing of Steve Pederson.
"Compelling circumstantial evidence thus is presented by the facts at hand that Defendant, indeed, has entered, and remains in, the State of Nebraska in the guise of 'Tom Osborne' and that Defendant apparently has revealed Defendant's true identity to at least some of those who have showered, and continue to shower, upon Defendant adulation, adoration, veneration, homage, worshipful outpourings of thank-giving and the like," Chambers wrote in the lawsuit.
"Football is a religion (to Husker fans) and Osborne is their God," Chambers said in an interview.
Osborne declined to comment on the matter. Chambers said he doesn't expect to hear anything from Osborne either.
The two have had a rocky history.
In the 1970s, Chambers voiced his opinions on how he felt Osborne treated his black athletes. After that, Chambers countered Osborne on pushing for more compensation for football players. But Osborne and Chambers did work together once.
When Osborne was a congressman in 2004, he and Chambers co-authored an editorial against legislation that aimed to legalize casinos and gambling in Nebraska.
Osborne and Chambers haven't spoken with each other since they wrote the editorial, Chambers said.
Chambers filed a first lawsuit against an unspecified God last month for which he received international media attention.
It was filed in light of a federal lawsuit by University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate Tory Bowen.
Bowen sued Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront for barring certain words, like "rape" and "victim," from being used in the trial of Pamir Safi, who was charged with sexually assaulting Bowen in 2004.
"You can't prohibit lawsuits - anybody can sue anybody," Chambers said. "Even God."
But Chambers said filing this suit made more of a statement than words alone. Chambers said the key is to have a hook, and his was the God lawsuit.
"When I baited the hook against God, the whole world rose," he said.
He doesn't intend to actually file the claims. He said it was merely a tangent and his point was made.
But Chambers said a lot of people missed the satirical point behind the gestures. Many people called Chambers' lawsuit blasphemous.
A second, underscored goal of Chambers on the second lawsuit was to condemn Husker fans for their "attacks against the players," which Chambers said is totally unacceptable.
"These people act like those players go out and lose on purpose," he said.
"They have turned on these players with hatefulness and vengeance I haven't seen in this state before, and I think it's wrong."
chrisrosacker@dailynebraskan.com
