Tennessee public school coaches told they cannot bow heads during student-led prayer. Credits: john8322.blogspot.com

Joe Newby Spokane Conservative Examiner
September 25, 2011

The war against free speech and religious liberty took a strange and disturbing twist last Friday in the town of Westmoreland, Tennessee.
Four public school football coaches were spotted bowing their heads during a student-led prayer. According to reports, the coaches did not initiate the prayer, nor did they utter a word as the students prayed.
For this, they were called on the carpet by school authorities.
WSMV reports the coaches were not disciplined, but were educated on the school’s policy and had to sign a letter acknowledging they understood that policy.
Josh DeVine wrote:

“We’ve been telling our principals to kind of be looking for those things, because that is kind of a shift in how things have been done,” Sumner County Schools spokesperson Jeremy Johnson said. “It can in no way appear like it’s endorsed by Sumner County Schools personnel.”

According to the new policy, the result of an ACLU lawsuit alleging violations of “separation of church and state,” staff can be present while students pray, but cannot participate, nor can they even give the appearance of participation – even outside school hours.
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But is bowing one’s head out of respect endorsement of prayer or religion?

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