For some, 'Hail Mary' represents a sacred prayer recited ritualistically by devout Catholics. For others, 'Hail Mary' represents a football play executed as a last-ditch effort to win the game. Yet, at public universities nationwide, the distinction between church and state remains blurry as football teams collectively engage in prayers and attend religious services.
Advocates of these practices maintain that players face no obligation to participate, but blending sports and spirituality at public universities violates the First Amendment.
The role of religion in football at public universities resonates clearly at several campuses nationwide. As detailed in a recent New York Times article, University of Georgia head coach Mark Richt's preseason ritual involves church attendance as well as a devotional service on the eve of each game and a prayer service prior to kickoff. Demonstrations of school-sanctioned religion also arise at Florida State, Penn State and Notre Dame.
While individual players have the right to gauge participation in religious outings, coaches have the right to gauge participation of athletes on the field. The inherent power relationship between coaches and players may pressure reluctant athletes to engage in religious worship that is contrary to their beliefs. Team outings build rapport between coaches and teammates, and athletes who refrain from participation in religious events may face marginalization.
At the helm of the game day gospel movement, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsored more than 2,000 events attended by college football coaches in the past year. The attendance of youth to professional athletes and coaches at FCA events rose from 500,000 in 1990 to over 1.4 million in 2005. Evidently, the rising ranks of coaches that subscribe to the FCA's code of beliefs threaten the religious autonomy of athletes and the separation of church and state.
One adherent to the FCA mantra, coach Fisher DeBerry of the Air Force Academy Falcons, faced a Pentagon task force investigation for religious intolerance last June. Following the investigation, DeBerry abandoned pregame prayer and removed a locker room banner professing the FCA's Competitor Creed, which commences, 'I am a Christian first and last.'
The investigation and the subsequent policy changes enacted by DeBerry confirm the notion that church and state must remain separate, even on the football field. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed in a six-to-three majority delivered by justice John Paul Stevens that sanctioned prayer in public schools violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
The 'Father of the Constitution' and namesake of this city, James Madison, vigorously upheld the notion of separation, and the Badgers continue the tradition. Steve Malchow, UW-Madison associate athletic director said, 'Religious practices are up to each individual. We have to adhere to the principle of separation of church and state and we support freedom of choice as it relates to religious pursuits.'
UW-Madison's policy of separation should serve as an example to coaches at public universities who choose to disregard the establishment clause of the Constitution. In accordance with the clause, 'Hail Mary' should remain a football play, coaches should quit the pulpit and none should possess a right to coerce another, whether implicitly or explicitly, to participate in an act of religious worship'except maybe of Brett Favre.
