Kerby Anderson

Is a prayer before a high school football game unconstitutional? This issue may be decided by a case that was sent to the Supreme Court. Ten years ago, the Florida High School Athletic Association forbade Cambridge Christian School and its opponent from praying over the loudspeakers at the Citrus Bowl ahead of the state championship football game.

It is worth mentioning that both schools were Christian schools. If they were both Christians schools, what was the problem? They were told that the stadium and the microphone were owned by the city. That made them government actors, and so you supposedly cannot have a Christian message over a secular PA system.

First Liberty Institute has been bringing the case and has already collected more than twenty friend-of-the-court briefs from attorneys general, legal groups, and former football players. First Liberty is essentially asking that a previous decision in Santa Fe v. Doe be overturned. The Supreme Court twenty-five years ago ruled in that case that a student-led, student-initiated prayer at football games violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Whenever I talk about that case, I make the joke that the reason that the justices ruled against the students was because they argued that a Texas high school football game was not a religious event. After a short pause, I then say: “Apparently they have never been to a Texas high school football game.”

Of course, this is a different court and there is a significant court precedent. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Coach Joe Kennedy who went to the 50-yard-line to pray after a high school football game.

The high court should take this case, and the justices should rule in favor of the Christian school. This should be an easy decision.