Prayers won’t be sidelined by ruling

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- A push from teammates to pray before and after football

games is a healthy form of peer pressure, Costa Mesa High School’s

athletic director said in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision

to restrict school prayer.

“If anyone has a problem with praying, they have a problem with life,”

said Kirk Bauermeister, who also coaches the school’s baseball team.

“This is a positive thing for our kids.”

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday voted to bar school officials from

sponsoring group prayer or encouraging students to make religious

speeches at school events. The 6-3 ruling struck down a Texas school

board’s policy of allowing students there to vote on whether to have

student-led prayers at school events, including football games.

“It sends a message to members of the audience who are nonadherents that

they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an

accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members

of the political community,” Justice John Paul Stevens said.

But it looks as though the ruling won’t affect prayers led by players on

the field, which are common before football games at many schools,

including Costa Mesa and Estancia High schools.

“Not all peer pressure is illegal,” said Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment

scholar at UCLA who was once a clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

“It’s constitutional as long as the coach doesn’t say ‘you can only use

this time for prayer. You can’t give each other high-fives, pep talks,

huddle, bond or play drums.’ ”

Bauermeister, who said roughly half of the team participated in the

on-field invocations, said he only would consider restricting the prayers

if any player told him he felt uncomfortable. And so far, he said, no one

has spoken up.

During the prayers, players who are not religious stand behind those

knelt in prayer, said Todd Duddridge, 18, a defensive end for the

Mustangs.

“I go to church, but I’m not religious,” said Duddridge, who chooses not

to pray at games. “But I think it’s important to stand behind my

teammates who pray to show we’re a team.”

Principal Andrew Hernandez said he hadn’t heard any complaints from

players or parents regarding the on-field prayers.

“We’re very sensitive to issues of underground intimidation and kids

being intimidated,” he said. “But we’ll wait and see if there are new

guidelines and directions as a result of the decision.”

Newport-Mesa school board member Wendy Leece said the board would respect

the ruling. But she added that she expected and hoped it would spark

activism from religious students.

“The rights of people who have faith are being trampled on,” she said.

“But those who want to silence us are in for a big surprise. They’re just

going to fortify, encourage and inspire us to be more bold.”