Basketball Coach Asked his Team to Pray

In 2006, Clay Jenkinson's eleven year old daughter attended a public school in Kansas. The girl's basketball coach started praying before games with his team.  He would say, "Lets all pray and if you do not feel like praying, you can stand over there."  Jenkinson's ex-wife went ballistic saying that the First Amendment says you cannot have an establishment of a religion.

As Jenkinson notes this prayer was not a Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim prayer.  It was not even a Catholic prayer.  It was a Protestant prayer.   If you take a sports team and tell a student that if she does not want to participate she can stand over there, you are punishing a student for her freedom.  The coach meant well, but he was ostracizing those that were not willing to participate in his religious exercise.

This story can be found on the Thomas Jefferson Hour Episode 634.  Clay Jenkinson's website is http://www.jeffersonhour.com/