I can assure you that our employees, including coaches, will be reminded of laws involving the Separation of Church and State and will respond accordingly so that an objective/reasonable observer will not perceive their actions as endorsing religion in the future.For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
-- Robert S. Fulton, M.S. Ed
Oklahoma School Assures Wisconsin Atheists: No Praying Coaches Here
Florida Counties Bans Christians from School Football; Atheists Win
Maine Church Leaders Agree with Atheists: No Prayer Allowed with Students
Arizona Schools Ban Christian Football Coaches
Thousands of Citizens vs. Atheists: Prayer at Florida Football
Tennessee Cheerleaders Defy Atheist-forced Prayer Ban
North Carolinians Pray at School, Defying Wisconsin Atheists
Georgia Citizens & School Team Up vs. Anti-Prayer Atheists
Also read Most Americans Support Prayer in School: Poll
In addition, read Atheists Threaten to Sue Every School in Tennessee and in Mississippi but admit they're Short on Lawyers to Sue ALL Christians
-- From "Cape football prayer gets flagged" by Leigh Giangreco, Delmarva Daily Times 10/17/14
Two students on the team led the prayer, while coach Bill Collick participated, according to the [FFRF] foundation. Collick serves as both football coach and dean of students for the high school. . . .
The foundation is asking the district to investigate a possible separation of church and state violation but is not planning any legal action.
[Daniel Conkle, a professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, poses the question,] “Can [the coach] stand at the back of the room? At what point does the coach take a posture that he’s endorsing or promoting the prayer?”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Cape Henlopen School District responds to question about what appeared to be post-game prayer" by Mark Fowser, WXDE-105.9FM (Delaware) 10/17/14
The letter from Superintendent Robert Fulton was sent to a Staff Attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The organization informed the district last week of its concerns about a photograph after a recent football game that appeared to show football coach Bill Collick and some players taking part in a post-game prayer, and raising questions about whether it was a constitutional violation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "A kind word for Coach Collick" posted at Delaware Cape Gazette 10/17/14
Cape Henlopen High School football coach Bill Collick stood at the edge of a group of players on their knees in a postgame prayer recently. Sports Editor Dave Frederick, a friend of Collick’s and himself a coach of long standing, caught the scene with his camera. When the Cape Gazette published the photograph - in print and online - it captured the attention of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, dedicated to keeping religion and public functions separate.
Coach Collick didn’t organize, lead, or require the prayer. To the contrary, he exercised his own constitutional right to join this peaceful assembly. He was being supportive, and that’s what good coaches do. And Coach Collick is a good coach. He serves as a positive role model through his professional and positive demeanor on the field and in the hallways of Cape Henlopen High School as an administrator. He keeps students engaged, who might otherwise not be, and on the right track.
To read the entire editorial above, CLICK HERE.
Also read U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of public prayer, and read the resulting resurgence in public prayer following the Supreme Court decision including the long list of states enacting laws to bring prayer back to schools.
