Episode 30: High School Football and the Battle over Religious Freedom

Send us Fan MailEarlier this summer,  a Supreme Court case about a high school football coach praying at the 50-yard line ignited a fierce debate about freedom of religion and expression.  A majority of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the coach and held that the Constitution protected his right to pray on the field after the game.  Proponents of the ruling  say it’s a victory for freedom of religion for all Americans.  Opponents believe that "this is the greatest loss of religious freedom in our country in generations  and will undermine everyone’s right to live as ourselves and believe as we choose.”This episode is about football, but it’s also about something much bigger than that. It’s a story of the role of faith versus policy and the law. It's also a story about how the narrative of a case can sometimes be more important the underlying facts in the case.  What does it mean for the future of high school football? For the future of the separation or church and state?  To help me sort it all out, I'm joined by the lead lawyers who worked on  each side of this landmark case. Hiram Sasser is  Executive General Counsel for First Liberty Institute, which represented Joe Kennedy. And Richard Katskee is the  Vice President and Legal Director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Thank you for listening! For the latest in sports law news and analysis, you can follow Gabe Feldman on twitter @sportslawguy .