>>>comment:
>>>If this were a league that were sponsored by a church, such as I played in growing up, than nobody could say a thing about the prayer. But from my understanding in reading the article 1.) this is a municipal league, which to me says prayer has no place here, and Ms. Gunner, as well-intentioned as she clearly is, shouldn't be calling the children to pray, and 2.) Mr. Fromm tried to simply have his children stand on the sidelines, but now he feels his children have been ostracized and targeted because of this. He and his family are the people having their American rights violated on may levels. It amazes me how many "Christian Americans" want to push this country into a theocracy.
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>>>Wonder what would of happened if it was an Islamic prayer instead.
>>>
>>>>http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/29/florida-parent-protests-prayer-ritual-football-games/
>>
>>I'm torn on this. At first I was going to post that I am in complete agreement with you. My daughter cheered at the county football games for years and there should be no representation of any religion - it ends up being peer pressure to participate as well and peer pressure is negative for the kids regardless of what that pressure is for.
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>>However, reading it again, it is a private league (surprising since it is the Holmes County Pee Wee Football Association). That part I don't get. I would agree that it should not have prayer when on public property, but private religious schools play public schools on public property (and vice versa) all the time and they pray before games and should be allowed to continue.
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>>Since it is a private league, whether or not they use public property for the games, I think they should be allowed to continue. However, I have a caveat and a question: the team needs to advertise itself as such so when kids join they know it practices prayer, and are there other public teams and leagues for the kids to play in? The name does not suggest private at all.
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>>My daughter cheered for the county leagues and they were organized through the local recreation sites/facilities. How, with that name (Holmes County Pee Wee Football Association) is it private?
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>>Another point, the link on that page contains this statement:
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>>Peewee Association president Debbie Gunter presented a petition with 491 names asking that pregame prayer be continued. Gunter also said the association takes no government funding and that the association’s board of directors has established that voluntary prayer is permitted by players, cheerleaders, coaches and association board members before each game. Gunter also said the Vernon City Council has no control over the association.
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>>Gunter said Fromm has been involved in the association for several years and that he, like all parents, was aware of the association’s policies.
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>>http://www.waltonsun.com/news/vernon-87318-newsherald-coach-cries.html
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>>Is it really private? It still seems an awful lot like a county or city league.
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>>Also, individual voluntary prayer is not the same as a team prayer. There is pressure to be a part of the team and participate in a team prayer. That bothers me. And then there is the statement that the prayer has been established for years (so all kids and parents should know about it but is it really a private league and do other leagues exist)
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>>This is going to be a tough one for the lawyers to figure out I think. I don't think we have enough information.
>
>Yep not enough info on it yet. I don't see why the 491 bible-tumpers that signed the petition wanting the prayers to continue don't just slip off to the sideline of the field and do it amongst themselves instead of making a big show of it in the middle of the football field. If it was me I'd walk out on the field with a goat and a knife and tell everyone I'm about to have MY prayer now and start screaming "praise satan" just to make a point.

Unless things have changed, prayer on the field (or off the field) before a game used to be a common site. Definitely not for public schools, but in many other sports it still is. I saw it in Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, North Carolina...

BTW, I think your goat with the knife routine might not just terrify the kids, but bring along the cops as well.... :o)