School Football Resumes After Prayer Ban

S A N T A  F E, Texas, Sept. 2, 2000 -- Football returned to Santa Fe High School near Houston, Texas, but the tradition of pre-game prayer did not.

Two months after the U.S. Supreme Court banned high schools from amplifying school-sanctioned pre-game prayer, a court-defying effort by protesters to recite “The Lord’s Prayer” fell short of expected numbers Friday night.

An estimated 200 of the crowd of 4,500 broke into prayer at Santa Fe High School, the school that spawned the June 19 decision from the high court.

Thousands of people had expected to recite the prayer at the home opener between Santa Fe and neighboring rival Hitchcock as part of an organized No Pray No Play movement.

“It would have been an awesome experience to be in the stands and to be able to hear you know that many people saying ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’” said Becky Frye, mother of a Santa Fe player. “And I think it’s a shame that it didn’t get to happen.”

Prayer Falls Short of Prediction

The tool that shut down the effort, prayer fans said, was theschool-owned public address system the Supreme Court said could notbe used to broadcast a prayer.

When the appointed moment to pray arrived, the Santa Fe faithfulwere slapped a double insult: the announcer broke right into hisintroduction of the visiting team.

“It was obvious that the announcer jumped right in after theanthem, and then it was too late to do anything,” said Frye. “If people could have appointed a leader for every section, we could have overcome the speaker.”

Poor planning was also a problem, others said.

“People didn’t get it together,” said Sheila Briscoe, anotherSanta Fe team booster.

Nonetheless, the group who planned the synchronized pre-gameprayer declared the event a success.

“We weren’t trying to get everybody on the same line,” said No Pray No Play spokesman David Newsome. “We didn’t come here and say we were going to orchestrate this thing one-two-three like they’re doing out there on the field with the band.”

No Pray No Play, from Temple, led a statewide movement which hadmixed success around Texas.

A large majority of fans, some of whom wore No Pray No Playshirts, were from the area. Six people with No Pray No Playtraveled hundreds of miles from Temple to Santa Fe, and about twodozen others walked about 10 miles from Hitchcock. Two of themhauled wooden crosses.

Prayer Movements Abound

Elsewhere in the United States, others were leading similar prayer movements in recent weeks.

East of Texas, Terry Schultz was among those who led prayers at high school football games in several states. Shultz is a member of the Reformation Presbyterian Church, in Hendersonville, N.C., and he says the Supreme Court declared war on America with its decision.

“I think it’s that kind of determined effort on the part of the judiciary in America to perform a religious lobotomy upon America that is really of the most concern to the average family man, trying to raise kids to give them hope,” Schultz said.

“We are just blue-collar, white-collar, working folks who are very concerned what we’ve seen since the ’60s and since prayer was taken out of school,” he continued. “We saw test scores plummet and they’ve never gotten back. We’ve seen teenage suicide go out of reach, all the addictions and the problems, the Columbine tragedy.”

He says he sees prayer as a healing force on these social ills

Prayer at Other Games

Etowah County High School in Attalla, Ala., opened its season Thursdaynight with a student-led prayer over the loudspeaker. Head football coach Raymond Farmer said the prayer was not in defiance of the Supreme Court order and was recited because “we think that’s what we should do.”

Farmer says prayer is as much a part of playing football inEtowah County as putting on pads.

In the West Texas town of Merkel, a large portion of about 250fans bowed their heads and removed their hats before the kickoff ofFriday’s game against Bangs. And before the Merkel team exited thefield house, about 35 parents briefly gathered in a prayer circleon the track, holding hands for an invocation asking to God watch overthe players.

Meanwhile, Tyler’s Robert E. Lee High School chose analternative demonstration of faith. The school’s Red Raider Bandplayed a Christian chorus during a planned moment of silencefollowing the national anthem.

Friday’s recitations paled in comparison to other pre-gameexpressions of faith at football games around the country since thehigh court’s ruling.

In Hattiesburg, Miss., 4,500 stood to pray before a game lastweek. In Asheville, N.C., 25,000 people gathered at a footballstadium for a rally sponsored by a group urging the recitation of“The Lord’s Prayer” at football games.

Details of the Case

In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that amplified, student-ledprayer approved by public school officials crossed the line in theseparation of church and state.

The Santa Fe Independent School District was the defendant inthe case. After the ruling, it ended its tradition of pre-gameprayer.

Advocates said the prayer was meant to be a testament totheir right of free speech. Even their former adversaries in courtagreed.

“The simple act of any group deciding they want to voice anyopinion, that’s speech we fight 100 percent of the time toprotect,” said Martin Mayne, president of the Houston chapter ofthe American Civil Liberties Union.

ABC Radio and The Associated Press contributed to this report.