Ohio Pastor Dave Daubenmire Threatens To Sue NFL, Says Watching Halftime Show Put Him At Risk Of Going To Hell

A former central Ohio football coach threatened to sue the NFL in a Facebook post Monday over the Super Bowl’s halftime show, stating he believed he was “in danger of hell fire” from viewing the music performance.

Dave Daubenmire, activist and host of “Pass the Salt Ministries’ Coach Dave LIVE” web show, said he plans on suing the NFL, Pepsi, Fox, and several other companies, over the graphic nature of the “crotch-grabbing” halftime show performance on Sunday.

“I think we ought to go sit down in a courtroom and present this as evidence of how whoever is keeping me from getting into the kingdom of Heaven,” Daubenmire said in the video.

The Super Bowl LIV halftime show showcased Jennifer Lopez and Shakira giving high-energy performances of hits, like Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” and Lopez’s “On the Floor.” While many praised the performance, Daubenmire criticized what he described as the “Super Bowl porn show” for being too sexualized for young children viewing the program. (RELATED: REPORT: Jennifer Lopez In Talks To Perform At Next Superbowl Halftime Show)

Daubenmire said he tuned in Sunday planning on watching football but instead was forced to view a “crotch-grabbing,” “soft pornographic” performance during the Super Bowl.

In his video, Daubenmire argued that the halftime show was different from other television programs that display sexual imagery because there was no warning of the performance’s content before it aired.

He claimed that the advertisers should have an obligation to at least warn viewers about the “graphic content.”

“I turned on the TV to watch football, not to watch a pole dance,” Daubenmire said in a phone interview from his home in Hebron, Ohio with the Daily Caller. “They penetrated the sanctity of my home.”

He stated in a Monday webcast on “Pass the Salt Ministries’ Coach Dave LIVE” web show that Lopez was too old to wear provocative clothing. (RELATED: Jennifer Lopez, Shakira Perform In Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show)

“J-Lo is 50,” he said. “You go on a porn website, you’re not looking for 50-year-old women.”

He said he is less concerned about First Amendment rights and more concerned about young children, who he believes were negatively affected by what they saw.

“Young boys are being exposed to this,” Daubenmire said.

“I’m not here to tell the NFL what they can put on. I’m not here to tell anyone what they can watch,” Daubenmire said. “But they don’t have the right in the middle of a game to broadcast soft porn.”

Daubenmire said he has been speaking with a lawyer and plans to go forward with the lawsuit against the NFL in the near future. He claimed he would be satisfied with an $867 trillion settlement.

Evangelist Franklin Graham accused the halftime performance of showing “young girls that sexual exploitation of women is okay,” according to The Charlotte Observer.

In 1999, Daubenmire was involved in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the London High School Coaching staff, where Daubenmire was on staff at the time. The lawsuit was filed after a parent complained about Daubenmire leading prayers with the high school football team. The ACLU accused the school of religious indoctrination and violating the students’ First Amendment rights, according to the ACLU’s website.

Daubenmire said he believes American advertising companies are specifically promoting bigotry toward American Christian groups.

“You can do whatever you want — you can put gay Jesus up there,” Daubenmire said. “Christians are sick of it. They are looking for someone to push back.”

Graham also urged people to stop supporting Pepsi products in a boycott of the NFL. (RELATED: One Million Moms Group Calls On NFL To Keep Super Bowl ‘Clean And Family-Friendly’)

In a Thursday webcast, Daubenmire stated he has received a lot of backlash for his Monday webcast, including having been sent pornographic images on Twitter and Facebook and being propositioned for sex.

“I’ve seen pictures of large penises and I appreciate it, but, no, I don’t want to receive any of them,” he said in a Thursday webcast. “The offers that you guys have to come by and put it where the sun don’t shine in my bun.”

“I’m not a closet homosexual. I don’t sit around and watch gay porn,” he continued.

Ironically, the “about” section on Daubenmire’s Facebook page contained a phone number that spells out “butt-sex” and directs callers to a sex line. Daubenmire said he had no knowledge the phone number was listed. That number was recently changed.

When asked about his comment that the 2020 halftime show would put him “in danger of hell fire,” Daubenmire said he only said it for effect.

“I’m not worried about whether I’m going to go to hell for watching J-Lo,” Daubenmire said on the phone.

In 2010, Coach made an unsuccessful bid for election to Congress in the 18th District in Ohio.