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August 4, 2006
On a knee and a prayerThis in from yesterday's Legal Clips. In an unpublished decision that could attract national attention, a New Jersey federal district court has ruled that a high school football coach's bowing of his head and kneeling during player-initiated pre-game prayers does not constitute an Establishment Clause violation. The court also held that school district directives that prohibited the coach from engaging in those gestures violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech, free association, and academic freedom.
Here's the scoop. Marcus Borden has been head varsity football coach at East Brunswick High School (EBHS) for more than 23 years. The team had a tradition of the coach participating in a team prayer before the pre-game meal and again before the team took the field. When some parents of EBHS students complained about the prayers and threatened litigation, East Brunswick School District (EBSD) restated its school prayer policy. EBSD officials issued several directives warning Borden that his participation in student-initiated and led prayer, including standing and bowing his head during the pre-game meal prayer and kneeling during the prayer before the game, would be considered insubordination and could lead to his discharge.
Borden initially resigned as coach, but returned and agreed to abide by the policy while he brought a lawsuit in which he argued that merely bowing one's head and kneeling while the team prays does not amount to participation and, thus, does not violate the Establishment Clause. He also contended that prohibiting him from engaging in such gestures infringed on his rights to free speech, free association, and academic freedom.
EBSD countered that engaging in such conduct during student-initiated prayers sends a message of school endorsement of the religious message, in violation of the Establishment Clause. The district argued that coaches and other school staff are perfectly able to bond with students in non-religious ways and that the coach's actions would have a coercive effect on players who choose not to participate.
Read reactions from both sides in the Home News Tribune here. Read the full opinion here.
The dilemma for school boards is a familiar one on this kind of issue: So which side do you want to sue you first? Hey, if you lose to one side at least that should be a pretty good defense against getting sued from the other side. BoardBuzz seeks silver linings wherever we can.
Posted August 4, 2006 11:38 AM | Religion
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