Doesn’t matter. If you wanna talk about your personal morals, go to your therapist. If you want to talk about whether or not this is legal under United States law, talk to me. Under US law, he held a significant position of power over them, and that’s all that matters.

Wouldn’t matter under US law. He is in a position of power, and that is enough.

Same reason your boss cant make everyone pray.

Punishment doesn’t matter. All that matters is the fear of punishment. And a coach, teacher, staff member, etc who are supposed to punish you all meet that criteria.

Power imbalance. It's the same reason a teacher telling her class to do Islamic prayer would be forcing. They can leave if they want, but they know that if they do, they may be punished.

It's not free speech to force players to pray to a diety they may not worship. That's called forced religion