It’s downright admirable that Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford is going out of his way to take a principled stand against a blatant case of arbitrary separation of church and state. Specifically, he takes issue with Pasco Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning, who has told county football coaches they shouldn’t be praying with their teams. More legalistically speaking, Browning said it’s inappropriate for adults to initiate, lead or participate in prayer with students while working in their “official duties.” Something about school district policy and the U.S. Constitution.
Weatherford found that unacceptable and cited the Legislature’s passage last year of the “inspirational messages” law that allowed districts to permit policies allowing students to offer inspirational messages, including prayers, at school functions. But the bill, while inclusive in spirit, actually precluded school personnel from leading such prayers. Weatherford has called the ban on coach-led praying “un-American” and said, if necessary: “I will work on a bill for it next year.”
Two points.
First, this remains an ongoing, dicey, nuance-laden area of the law. Actually, it’s more about tradition. Let’s get real. How many prayer advocates would vouch for the Deity’s priorities including high school football? Friday Night Lights are that luminous? And, frankly, how many would want to be privy to the upshot of a coach-led prayer before a big game? I’ve been around them in a previous incarnation. It’s basically this: “Thank you, Jesus. Now let’s go out and kick some ass.”
Frankly, it would make more sense to go secular and just invoke the sentiments of Grantland Rice: “For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, he writes–not that you won or lost–but how you played the Game.”
Second, Weatherford should be more concerned with his separation of priorities.
To date, he’s given no indication that he would get out in front and do the right thing when it comes to Internet sales taxes, Medicaid expansion, Stand Your Ground repeal and texting-while-driving as a primary offense. Ironically, that would really be worth praying for.