11th Circuit upholds ruling against Florida Christian school proposing a public pregame prayer

ATLANTA (CN) — A private Christian school’s First Amendment rights were not violated when the Florida High School Athletic Association refused to allow it to broadcast a prayer over a stadium’s public address system before a 2015 championship football game, an 11th Circuit panel said on Tuesday.

Cambridge Christian School accused the association, the state-designated governing body for high school sports, in 2016 of violating of its free speech and free exercise rights under the U.S. and Florida Constitutions.

A unanimous panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court ruled that pregame speeches broadcast over the PA system at a state-organized football final “has traditionally constituted government speech” which is not subject to regulation under the First Amendment.

Writing on behalf of the panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Ed Carnes found that scripted messages communicated by the PA announcer — including welcome messages, scholar-athlete awards and player introductions — were exactly the sort of things fans in the stadium would believe were government-endorsed.

"We conclude that the control factor, like the other two government speech factors, suggests that the speech at issue is government, not private, speech," the George W. Bush appointee wrote. "We conclude that the control factor, like the other two government speech factors, suggests that the speech at issue is government, not private, speech."

According to the panel, the executive director of the association feared broadcasting the prayer would violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides for a degree of separation between church and state.

Though Cambridge Christian called foul on the association’s executive director denial of their request to broadcast a prayer at a Class 2A state championship game at the Citrus Bowl — where athletes on both teams ultimately gathered for a prayer at the 50-yard line before the game instead — U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell found in 2022 that the restrictions on speech delivered over the PA system were reasonable because the game was hosted by the association, a state actor, in a government-owned stadium.

The panel agreed with the Barack Obama appointee on Tuesday, confirming summary judgment for the association in its 52-page ruling.

The panel also pointed out that the proposed prayer would have come around the time the pledge of allegiance and national anthem were performed over the PA system, rituals “inseparably associated with ideas of government.”

Carnes identified only one historical example of a private speaker using the PA system to lead a prayer at a football state championship. But even then, the prayer was put into the association's script with its approval.

“In this specific context, the spectators would reasonably believe the government endorses the pregame speech over the PA system at the state championship game,” Carnes wrote.

The athletic association’s decision did not violate the school’s right to freely exercise its religion either, the panel ruled.

"Because we conclude that the FHSAA was regulating its own expression when it restricted pregame speech over the PA system at the 2015 football championships, Cambridge Christian’s free exercise claims fail," Carnes said.

A spokesperson for the First Liberty Institute, which represents the school in the lawsuit, did not immediately provide comment on the decision Tuesday afternoon.

The appeals court also sided with the association in finding that the school’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief are moot. The school had asked for an injunction against future restrictions on pregame prayer at football championship games.

Both a Florida law passed last May and a new policy adopted by the association make an injunction unnecessary, Carnes wrote.

The new statute requires the athletic association to let schools make opening remarks, including prayers, at events and bars the association from controlling, monitoring or reviewing the content of those remarks.

“The new law and policy unambiguously allow for brief opening remarks over the PA system at state championship events. The only content restriction on those remarks is that they may not be derogatory, rude or threatening, and they can be no longer than two minutes in length. There are no specific restrictions applicable only to prayer," Carnes wrote. "The law and corresponding policy effectively ‘repeal’ the FHSAA’s earlier prayer restriction, making it clear that the allegedly wrongful conduct — a ban of all pregame prayer over the PA system at a state championship football game — cannot reasonably be expected to recur."

A spokesperson for the association did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The panel ruled that Honeywell lacked jurisdiction over the school’s moot claims for declaratory and injunctive relief. The case will return to the lower court so those claims can be dismissed.

Carnes was joined on the panel by U.S. Circuit Judge Britt Grant, a Donald Trump appointee, and Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Gerald Tjoflat, a Gerald Ford appointee.

Follow @KaylaGoggin_CNS

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