CE Week #8: “Tough to oppose coach kneeling”
Linda P. Campbell
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
October 20, 2007
The day an ambulance transported a player from a football scrimmage, I prayed he would be all right.
The night the trainer was holding up fingers in front of a dazed defender, I prayed the injury wasn’t major.
And when a tight end was helped to the sideline and then taken to the hospital, I prayed he wouldn’t suffer lasting damage.
There might not be crying in baseball, but there is praying in football.
It’s a violent game. Contested in an emotional atmosphere. By young men who in the best of worlds have bonded with their teammates and their coaches. And people get hurt.
So a little head-bowing, a moment of silence, a reminder from the announcer that “it’s just a game” strike me as comforting, not constitutional tinder.
But a New Jersey town has been upended over what separation of church and state means for locker rooms, playing fields and pregame rituals.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh decided that football coach Marcus Borden, who also teaches Spanish at East Brunswick High School, could take a knee and bow his head during his players’ pregame prayers.
Cavanaugh ruled from the bench that Borden wasn’t leading the prayers – or even really participating in them.
“I agree that an Establishment Clause violation would occur if the coach initiated and led the activity, but I find nothing wrong with remaining silent and bowing one’s head and taking a knee as a sign of respect for his players’ actions and traditions, nor do I believe would a reasonable observer,” wrote Cavanaugh, who was appointed to the bench in 2000 by President Clinton.
(Read a transcript at www.thnt.com/assets/html/ B535522726.HTM.)
If only it were so simple.
For most of his 24 years at East Brunswick, Borden perpetuated the “tradition” by appointing players to lead prayers at mandatory pregame meals and conducting a locker room prayer circle, according to court filings.
He did it even though the Supreme Court ruled in the 1960s that the First Amendment bars school officials from conducting classroom prayers or Bible devotions.
Even though the Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that public schools unconstitutionally promote religion by organizing or leading graduation prayers.
Even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that school officials can’t appoint or arrange for students to lead public prayers before football games.
Borden did it until 2005, when some cheerleaders, players and parents complained to the superintendent. They told her, among other things (according to a court brief), that those who objected to pregame dinner prayers were told to wait them out in the bathroom.
When the district told Borden to stop leading prayers, he quit his job; then he withdrew his resignation and sued for a court order allowing him to quietly bow his head and take a knee with his team.
District officials have asked the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the Virgin Islands, to rule that even his silent action would go too far toward endorsing religion.
“Borden does not get to infringe students’ and parents’ religious freedom because, as a public employee, he does not get to make policy: The District does,” the district’s lawyers argue in a brief. A three-judge panel heard arguments Oct. 3.
They’re absolutely correct about public employees not coercing students to engage in favored religious conduct. Teachers shouldn’t evangelize on school time. They shouldn’t use their positions of influence to promote certain beliefs, denigrate others or make students feel ostracized.
But honestly, once we start policing what’s intended when people take a knee, have we divorced the law from reality?
When is it genuflection and when sincerely secular?
Ideally, coaches should neutrally respect their athletes’ choices to pray or not, but where’s the line that they dare not cross between promoting unity and seeding discord?
And when you hear about a coach secretly selling players’ medical information to big-money donors, how do you escape the sense that there are worse things that a coach can do than take a knee with his team?
The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://pkautzman.edublogs.org/2007/10/20/ce-week-8-tough-to-oppose-coach-kneeling/trackback/
The separation of church and state is too gray an issue to find any black or white. Students should be able to express themselves religiously if they desire, such as prayer before a game, yet why teachers and officials can’t is beyond me. I understand that maybe appointing certain players to lead prayer or making it a tradition to say prayer before the pregame meals may be a little pushy on the coach’s part, but what if a player had stood up by himself and said prayer? The issue of separation of church and state has a legitimate reason for being enforced, so people don’t feel ostracized, but if a student can express his faith through prayer, the teacher should be able to sit on the sidelines (not even with the kids) and participate in his teams pregame prayer without getting bombarded with the separation of church and state. By taking a knee or bowing a head in prayer, in no way is a teacher forcing any student to do the same. Maybe the student feels a little uncomfortable with it or feels like the teacher is imposing his beliefs on the student, but there are a lot of things that people say or do that make others uncomfortable or upset – yet because it’s prayer, there is going to be a fuss. And I have to agree, there are a lot worse things that coaches have done than take a knee and bow their heads with their team.
This surprised me on how much this relates to me being an athlete who takes part in a prayer before every volleyball game (led by Christine). I am so routine in everything I do that if I we did not pray, I would freak (and my teammates know how routine I am). However, at the beginning of the year we asked the girls if anyone had a problem with taking part in a prayer before every game, no one did, so we continued our tradition of prayer before every game. A problem I have is that if someone isn’t comfortable with it, they don’t have to take part in it. Like the football team, the boys could take a “bathroom break.” However, being in the same room as someone else prays does not mean you are praying. It means you are in the same room as someone praying, it’s not a disease, you won’t catch a prayer by accident. I’d like to point out that teachers and coaches whether they are the same or not have different contracts and I repeatedly see that teachers can not conduct prayers but no where have I seen the word coaches. “Teachers shouldn’t evangelize on school time.” One he is a coach and two this is not school time. If the fact that it appears Coach Borden is leading the prayers have the team captain lead in prayer because I have yet to see any rule saying a player can not pray. The coaches and team seems to provide very good alternatives for those who do not want to take part in prayer without dividing the team up. I found it most ridiculous that he got in trouble for taking a knee and bowing his head. How would they know if he were praying? He could just like to sit that way, or maybe he’s thinking over a game plan, no one knows and that’s the point. You shouldn’t be able to give a court order on your body movement. Not only in a time of prayer do people kneel but in injury it is a sign of respect for the player to kneel and shows a type of connection between players. I out of many think that prayer should be kept separate from school but this isn’t school—it’s game time.
-Caitlin Barschig
The whole issue of separation of church and state really bugs me. I really don’t like it very much. Sometimes, it makes me feel like people are telling Christians, or anyone with faith for that matter, that they can’t be who they are because it may make people uncomfortable. If someone is a Christian, lifting prayers up to the One we know can always help us is simply a part of who we are. For example, when I see a friend suffering or a huge pop quiz slammed on my desk, I don’t think twice about praying about it. I just do it. It is part of me – part of who I am. I don’t think that people should be allowed to take that away. It is not something they can take away. Yes, I have a problem with people who try to force their religion on others when it is not wanted. Yes, I would have a problem if a teacher or coach were to require that everyone pray. But, no, I don’t see a problem with discussing religion with someone who asks about it. And, no, I would not have a problem with a teacher or a coach if they were to pray with a willing student, or a student who asks to be prayed with. If our brother or sister in Christ is struggling and needs prayer, we pray for them. Teachers or other authorities at school should not have to say, “I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to pray with you at school.” They should be allowed to pray for that student without the fear that they will lose their jobs. I don’t think it is right when people try to restrict other people’s faith and the way they live their lives. If you don’t want to pray…then don’t. If you play football, and you don’t want to take a knee before your game…then don’t. But don’t make it so that other people who do desire to pray or take a knee can’t do it. It’s just not right.
Anyway, there’s my take on things!
~ Mags
WOW!!!! This was one of the most ridiculous articles I think I have ever read. I thought it would be a fun article to read because I like football, and sports and stuff. Then it turns out to be one of the dumbest things that could ever happen. It was a good written article, it’s just that the story the article told was outrageous. Everyone knows that before games people do things to get themselves pumped, and they do little rituals to do this. For example I am sure all the football players are trying to get their adrenaline going, jumping up and down, hitting stuff, who knows? But why can’t they have a little prayer, to ensure safety in their minds what is so bad about that? If the coaches are not leading it then what is the problem? This is why America has problems, because instead of just sitting and going with it over something little, those people that disagree with the prayers have to get up, and make a big deal over it, just SHUT UP. What is so bad about a little prayer? Like seriously come on. I didn’t catch who won the case, but I hope the coach wins because that (people crying over prayer) is ridiculous!
After reading this article I started thinking, wow some people are ridiculous. Do people really have a make this big of a deal about praying in school? I don’t really think it is necessary, however, I could quite possible be wrong. To me praying in school is not really that big of a deal. The only thing I had a problem with was when it started talking about how he appointed people to lead prayers. I think if it were going to happen it should voluntary and you did not have to participate if you did not want to. And of course you would not have to wait in the bathroom, now that’s not right. But I feel that if a student wanted to lead a prayer the teacher should be able to participate in it, I even think they should be able to conduct them if students want the teacher too.
I feel prayers should be allowed in school and should be voluntary. But if a student does not approve, I feel they should just remove themselves from that portion of whatever and not make such a big deal out of it. I don’t understand how people could be that opposed to something that seems so harmless. It’s not like your being forced to change your religion or what you believe in. If there is a moment of silence for prayer in class and you don’t approve, just don’t participate in the prayer.
I agree with mandy. I understand that a teacher cannot legally impose religion upon students. But that is to say that there is no reason why he could not participate with a player led prayer. I do see a problem in that he initiated the the praying and almost created a mandate which is strictly agianst the seperation of church and state. He is breaking the law, but he isnt if he merely participates in it. In order to completely eliminate the possibility of a teacher, coach or administrator from taking part in a religous prayer you would have to outlaw prayer in school. which is a blatant attack on the 1st amendment. I doubt that this sort of criticization of every thing religous is what the founding fathers had when they wrote the constitution.
Reply to all
It seems like everyone so far shares a similar stance on this issue. Church and state should not be one in the same, but teachers have rights to practice their own freedom of speech under the First Amendment just the same as any other American citizen. These two opposing ideas are should both be right and sound great in theory. The problem is taking either one too seriously can easily damage the other. Where and how is the government supposed to draw such an unstable line? Since sports are only school related, I believe the rules should be more relaxed than those of the school itself. I think the only thing that should be considered out of line is when a coach decides to lead a prayer without discussing its level of comfort with all of the players individually beforehand. The coach should also allow the players to decide on who they want to lead the prayer. And if it is the coach, then the coach should surely lead the prayer by request of the players.
Unfortunately, we DON’T know what the intent was when the Constitution was written! However I’m not sure that would make too much of a difference just because we are able to make amendments to the Constitution. So no matter the context of the Constitution then, there is always room for change if something doesn’t work. It’s just the fact that prayer and religion is one of those things such as abortion, the death penalty, or the war in Iraq, that no matter what rules say what and when, people are so split on such issues that not a whole lot can really successfully be changed because either way, people will be upset. Along with what Stefanie said, “Where and how is the government supposed to draw such an unstable line?” The government can’t. It’s too gray an area to draw a straight line or even a crooked one. A teacher or official should be able to practice their religion at school just as any student can. But there will always be someone who gets deeply offended, or just feels the need to complain, and suddenly, something that is small and can be prevented by just stepping out of the room or standing to the side for a couple of minutes, into something that requires the Constitution to get involved.