Supreme Court rules for coach whose prayers on football field raised questions about church-state se

Sounds more like that he prayed on his own and a group formed of their own accord like I see during virtually every sporting event in this country. Why should he be deprived of his constitutional right because others choose to join him? Without direct proof of requirement or coercion to join, this was a no-brainer decision.

AND, these kids really need to grow up and get a thicker skin. Their feelings are gonna get hurt a lot in this life and the sooner they understand that and learn to not let trivial things bother them, the better off they will be.

 

Those individuals with no authority over the others are wholly different than your teacher huddling the TEAM in the most conspicuous place it is possible to find. This is so obvious that this conflation is simply not a credible confusion.

 

Conflating something that has great control over the different populace’s of the world and a parade , welll….. fwiw I wouldn’t have either no get off my lawn

 

The lower courts must have ruled in error, apparently.

 

Kneeling for the anthem is always an individual choice, whereas prayer after a football game is always from pressure in the public school.

Now that's a dishonest characterization to reach a desired outcome if I've ever seen one.

 

He didn't say that. Good lord.

 

IN GOD WE TRUST.

U.S.'s (and Florida's) official motto.

NOTE: Separation of Church and State does NOT require denying God.

(...in fact, rather apparently, doing so is perfectly apropos).

 

Not according to the Supreme Court.

 

Your absolutism is a mischaracterization. Methinks that's a form of intellectual dishonesty you're quick to accuse others of engaging in. It doesn't have to be *always* but it's a fair presumption that any effort to build unity based on religious prayer has the potential to pressure young people to participate otherwise be ostracized. They shouldn't be put in such a situation for that scenario to possibly occur.

 

he does seem to be a bit of a showboat with it. Which there is specific Biblical guidance regarding it’s a manner prayer shouldn’t be performed.

 

I'm lying? That's hilarious. You rejected the statements from players who said they felt coerced because they were, according to you, "disgruntled," despite offering no explanation of how or why they were "disgruntled." You're shameless.

Some of the students who joined in said they felt coerced to do so. And you hand waved that away.

 

It's a presumption I disagree with because it basically diminishes the Free Exercise Clause to the Constitution to nothing but a house of cards.

"You have to show me how you weren't compelling people or else it violates the Establishment Clause, and if I find merely a picture of the entire team praying, or a couple of disgruntled players complaining, that is sufficient to violate the Establishment Clause."

For purposes of public schools, the Free Exercise Clause is rendered incredibly weak.

 

All the men of god are self appointed. Ymmv

 

I said we can't take their claims of coercion at face-value.

You seem to think that just because they said they were coerced, that means they were coerced, and all prayer tied to the football team should be shut down.

It's not on me to prove that they're disgruntled, it's on you to prove they were coerced. And so far, all you've given me is a picture of the team praying, and the words of some players. That's nothing.

 

Democracy dies in dumbness and talking points.

 

Yes, we can, unless you offer some evidence that would undermine their credibility. And no, "all prayer" would not be shut down. The players would still be allowed to initiate their own STUDENT-LED prayer. If your argument relies on continuously misrepresenting things, it clearly doesn't have much force to it.

 

Ahhh... So the coach just isn't allowed to pray with the students, if someone retroactively claims they were coerced.

I don't know, that doesn't seem fair either.

 

He's free to exercise his religion. He shouldn't be free to set up any situation where students might feel pressured to participate in a team function based on religious prayer. They are captive in many respects--as both their age and their position as students to an authority that can exact punishment for non-participation, as well as punishment that might come from other students for not being a team player. Such a punishment might not even be formal but informal social mistreatment/exclusion. Flip such a scenario around where it might be a Muslim coach and let's see how Christians would react. Might doesn't make right.

 

There's contemporaneous evidence. A parent sent a letter to the school saying her atheist child felt coerced to pray. And yes, as a government employee, you have to sacrifice some rights when you accept the terms of employment.

 

I don't know, but it adds a little intrigue to next year's Army-Navy game.