Written by Don Byrd
Religious messages on signs football players run through before games at a public high school in Texas are constitutional, according to a Texas judge. The banners, which are created by school cheerleaders and displayed on the field prior to the game, were the subject of an Establishment Clause challenge. After a letter of complaint, the school district became concerned – reasonably so – that the signs create the impression that the school endorses the religious messages.
I would love to pass on an eloquent summary of the judge’s legal reasoning. After all, Establishment Clause cases are among the most difficult to wade through. The law in this area can be complex to parse and apply, its balancing tests often tough to predict. Unfortunately, here Judge Steven Thomas didn’t give a written explanation for his order, which you can read here.
The attorney for the cheerleaders indicated in an ABCNews report that he does not expect the school district to appeal. We may not have heard the end of this issue generally.
