Praying football coach is rebuffed by federal appeals court

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A decision by East Brunswick’s football coach to bow his head and kneel during student-led pregame prayers represents an endorsement of religious activity at a public school event, a federal appeals court ruled April 15.

Marcus Borden, who has coached the Middlesex County team since 1983, found himself in the center of an intense debate about prayer and school athletics in 2005 after parents complained to the district that he prayed with students at pasta dinners on Friday afternoons and in the locker room before games.

Borden quit his coaching job amid the controversy, then rescinded his resignation and vowed to fight new district policies that targeted employees’ involvement in prayer.

Borden’s lawyer vowed to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case after the three appeals court judges unanimously overturned a lower court ruling in Borden’s favor, but issued three separate reasonings.

“The Supreme Court should hear this case because so far there have been four judges who rendered an opinion that’s different from the others’ decisions,” attorney Ronald Riccio said. “This is primed for the Supreme Court.”

The case began in November 2005 when Borden filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the district’s regulations were overly broad. He won a district court ruling in July 2006 deeming those rules unconstitutional.

But the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel overturned that decision and ruled that by bowing his head and going down on one knee while students prayed, Borden, 53, was endorsing religion.

“We find that based on the history of Borden’s conduct with the team’s players, his acts cross the line and constitute an unconstitutional endorsement of religion,” the three-judge panel wrote in the ruling. “Although Borden believes that he must continue to engage in these actions to demonstrate solidarity with his team ... we must consider whether a reasonable observer would perceive his actions as endorsing religion, not whether Borden intends to endorse religion.”

The East Brunswick Board of Education had pursued the appeals court ruling, arguing Borden’s decision to kneel and bow his head when students prayed before games constituted an endorsement of religion whether he mouthed the words with his players or not. The school board’s appeal was joined by Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

“East Brunswick Public Schools is very pleased with today's unanimous ruling ... upholding as reasonable the district’s policy against employees participating in prayer,” Superintendent Jo Ann Magistro said in a prepared statement.

— RNS