The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up a long-litigated case about the Florida High School Athletic Association’s refusal to let two private religious schools pray over the PA system before a 2015 game.
On Monday, the top court denied Cambridge Christian School’s appeal, more than a year after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit sided with the association.
The case focuses on the 2015 state championship game between Cambridge and University Christian School in Orlando in which the association denied the schools’ request to pray before the game, saying the game was in a publicly financed facility and the association served as a state actor.
The appellate court concluded it would be reasonable for the public to assume that a prayer from an announcer under these circumstances constituted government-endorsed speech.
Cambridge Christian prays on the PA system before home games but defers to the home team when playing away games, the circuit court said. The teams held a pregame prayer before the 2015 championship game, although not through the PA system.
Cambridge Christian, located in Tampa, sought damages, a declaratory judgement, an injunction against future restrictions on pregame prayer, plus attorney’s fees.
In 2023, the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved HB 225, which established, “The athletic association may not control, monitor, or review the content of the opening remarks and may not control the school’s choice of speaker.”
Former professional and University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow signed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, as did Tommy Bowden, a coach and son of the late Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden. That brief was in support of the private schools’ right to pray over the loudspeaker.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier signed on to a multi-state brief filed by various attorneys general in support of pregame prayers.
–Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
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