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On 17 December 2016, Fox News opinion columnist Todd Starnes published an article reporting that the annual Christmas play at Centerville Elementary School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, had been canceled because two parents were offended by its brief mention of God: Starnes asserted that two parents complained about a line in the Christmas play, citing rumors spread among local parents about the controversy, but provided no other information about the purported objections. His piece linked to and quoted from a statement from Principal Tom Kramer, who he stated that the decision to cancel the play was made primarily due to time constraints regarding making school instruction a priority over an extracurricular activity: Kessler referenced the many cultural and religious backgrounds of Centerville families but did not suggest any complaints had been lodged about the Christmas play. Notably, he added that neither parents nor staff members chose the option of relegating the play preparation to after-school hours — had the performance truly been banned or cancelled because it was deemed offensive by some, continuing with the Christmas play under any circumstances would not likely have been an option. Kessler maintained the primary factor in the decision was that the event could not be accommodated as a school-hours project due to the demands of the school's curriculum: The school has since posted a FAQ about the issue that includes the following entries: Lancaster Online reported that a Jewish family had temporarily left the area after being wrongly blamed for the play's cancellation: However, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) countered with a statement terming such reports untrue and damaging:
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