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

I didn't see it, what is the post number.

 

#193. And #192 quotes from the district court opinion.

 

If I start trying to take away your constitutional rights you would be a victim. And I have never claimed to be a victim in any direct way. I have never had someone try to silence my faith. This coach however did.

Me defending HIM is not making ME a victim at all.

This is a message board for such "hot" discussion. Perhaps you want an echo chamber?

 

No formal educating or curriculum is being taught at midfield after the extracurricular event ends.

A classroom should be limited to the course being studied.

I would be more understanding if this was in the classroom.

 

See above.

But Phil, do you think if he went through the semantics of excusing players and still did all of this that those opposing would suddenly be ok with it?

 

We're just going to have to disagree on this issue. It was not this coach's constitutional right to conduct group prayers on the football field of a public school.

 

The extracurriculur event hasn't ended for the players until the coaches have dismissed them. Just because the fans are done doesn't mean the coaches and players are done.

I think he would have a better claim if the players had been excused and his official duties were over. Based on the facts in the case, he is violating the separation of church and state. We can argue over whether not that should exist, but it currently does, and he should have lost this case.

And I say this as a practicing Christian who has spoken many times at FCA events while also employed by the government.

 

When he waited until the players left the field and prayed alone, the school didn't care.

 

If this verifiable? If true, I think it's a slam dunk case and the dude should have been released.

 

If you're arguing in good faith, this is incorrect.

 

On the contrary, this was a formal situation, highly formal, in fact. If educating were not a key facet to football, from sign-up to try-outs to practice and throughout the games, football would not exist in schools. IOW - football involves educating from the moment the kids get involved, to the moment they leave the locker room. I would suggest that a person standing in front of a crowd of kneeling players and coaches and praying, might even be doing some educating (wouldn't debate that, though, w/o knowing what the prayers consisted of).

I'm not certain, but don't think extracurricular activities are excluded from the Establishment Clause. If they are included, the fact they are extracurricular is irrelevant.

I would ask for you to take a moment and consider this from the perspective of a 15yr old freshman or sophomore football player. The coach huddles a bunch of kids together after the game. Might some of those players be popular, or upperclassmen, starters, etc? There could be a variety of circumstances (we don't know all of the events in the sequence, which would likely have impacted the decisions of players) that influence the thoughts and ultimately the behaviors of these young people. If you dig deep, and you can pat yourself on the back later for engaging in epistemic cognition , you will come to grips with the notion that these players' thoughts and behaviors were likely influenced.

Such influence defies the Establishment Clause.

 

Worth noting that the coach quit praying while the students were around for a few games after the district warned him. The players did not kneel and pray after those games.

 

Would you be okay with satanic rituals? Animal sacrifice? All in the name of religion of course..

 

It will be a great day in this country when people are judged and adjudicated based on what they actually do or do not do rather than how “some” could “ feel” about what they do.

 

Would have been great if the majority of the Supreme Court decided this case based on what the football coach actually did.

 

I’ll sum this up:

At a non-religious event that all people are encouraged to attend, religious affiliation being of absolutely no concern, which is a bunch of children playing a game, a grown-ass man made it about his inherently unverifiable opinion, and ruined a moment that is almost unruinable, by sheer determination to be That Guy.

 

Whatever happened, they didn't make a good enough case. Unless an appeal to the supreme supreme court is in order.

 

Tell the SC that. But I was talking about kids in HS and peer pressure.

 

A couple of points, not pro or con. My understanding is that there was a pre-game 'prayer' in the locker room, that pre-dated this coach. They discontinued that at some point in time during the coaches tenure. Also, my understanding is the school district never made this about any type of coercion during their correspondence with the coach (I think that was a mistake). Generally, I'm not a fan of what the coach did.
I went to my grand-daughters Hs flag football a few times. I noticed that after the game, players from both teams gathered for a prayer - player initiated. I'm assuming (pre this scotus decision) that if a coach or assistant went over and kneeled with the group this would not have been an issue?