NEW YORK TIMES
By MANNY FERNANDEZ
KOUNTZE, Tex. — The hand-painted red banner created by high school cheerleaders here for Friday night’s football game against Woodville was finished days ago. It contains a passage from the Bible — Hebrews 12:1 — that reads: “And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
That banner, and other religious-themed signs made by the high school and middle school cheerleading squads in recent weeks, have embroiled this East Texas town in a heated debate over God, football and cheerleaders’ rights.
School district officials ordered the cheerleaders to stop putting Bible verses on the banners, because they believed doing so violated the law on religious expression at public school events. In response, a group of 15 cheerleaders and their parents sued the Kountze Independent School District and its superintendent, Kevin Weldon, claiming that prohibiting the students from writing Christian banner messages violated their religious liberties and free-speech rights.
On Thursday afternoon, the two sides met in a courtroom on the second floor of the Hardin County Courthouse. It had all the trappings of a high-profile courtroom drama: Lawyers from both sides haggled over the Texas Constitution and the cheerleaders’ own constitution, a police officer with an assault rifle and binoculars was stationed on the roof, reporters filled the jury box, and one witness — Kieara Moffett, an 11th grade cheerleader — teared up on the stand during cross-examination.
The superintendent’s decision has outraged many students and their parents, and has brought national attention upon a small town about two hours outside Houston. The cheerleaders’ supporters have put up lawn signs and started a Facebook page called Support Kountze Kids Faith that, with nearly 50,000 members, far exceeds the town’s population of 2,100.
The Texas attorney general, Greg Abbott, offered to defend the cheerleaders’ First Amendment rights and wrote a letter to the superintendent saying that the decision to ban the religious messages was based on erroneous legal advice. Representatives of the newly formed Concerned East Texans for Separation of Church and State have taken action as well, delivering a gift basket to the district’s central office that included coffee, chocolates and a thank-you card.
Each side’s lawyers cast their clients as courageous: The teenage cheerleaders, for standing up to the school district to protect their religious views, and Mr. Weldon, himself a Christian and a former football coach, for taking an unpopular position in a largely conservative Christian town in order to, as he sees it, uphold the law.
After a daylong hearing that included the testimony of two cheerleaders, District Judge Steven Thomas of Hardin County decided to extend for an additional 14 days more a temporary restraining order that he had put in place two weeks ago. The move prevents district officials from enforcing the ban on religious signs for 14 days and allows the cheerleaders to continue to create and display the banners at the home game on Friday night as well as other coming games. It seemed likely that the judge would hold another hearing in two weeks.
“I feel like it’s getting God’s word out to those that need it,” Kieara, 16, said of the banners.
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I think that it's fair that they stood up to the school. What they were doing was right but they should have gotten the school's permission first before they just made the sign.If they would have gotten in trouble for what the did that would have been against they're rights.
ReplyDeleteI just think everything got blown out of proportion. I don't see how it breaks the law if just the students are doing it without guidance from the school's staff or teachers, but I also believe that because of the controversy it could cause, the cheerleaders should have just taken them down and made new banners instead of going balistic
ReplyDeleteI agree with Camilla it would be a lot easier to take it down then go through all that trouble. Plus, it's just a banner I don't see how it's that important.. Of course I'm not that religious.
ReplyDeleteDavid Hoang P3
I think that it is very very bad that the cheerleader were hold up banners this bible verse on them. They should not hold up those banners with the bible verses on them because so at a football game because some people don't even believe in Jesus.It would be very very good if the cheerleaders did the banners with bible verses in front of a church.
ReplyDeleteAshleyOtto p2
I think the cheerleaders should have gotten permission first before putting up those signs, which would have solved this whole thing from the start. Despite people's biased opinion, the cheerleaders are clearly displaying their religious rights, but they really should have asked the school first. Many people think that any kind of religion in schools is bad, however there are many things in school that go against students' religion. Evolution is proclaimed throughout schools, which really ticks off several religions, yet little is done to balance that teaching with creationism or intelligent design. It seems that no one notices how religious freedom is being taken away in schools. But when ONE incident in ONE school expresses religious freedom, the whole country hears about their "horrible" behavior.
ReplyDeleteJonas Fisher p2
I agree with both Cami and Jonas. I believe that this whole agreement could have been easily avoided. I don't see a problem with the cheerleaders signs as long as a teacher or staff member wasn't telling them to do Bible verses. It's almost the same as if you made it at home with some friends, the superintendent couldn't make them get ride of the signs because of your right to religous freedom and freedom of speech. I believe that our own school is smart in saying that all signs have to be approved before the event to prevent things like this from happening.
ReplyDeleteP.2. Syd Mosher
I find it ironic that this little issue blew up into a huge court case. However, I don't think the solution would have been just to get permission first. The same people who objected had no way of knowing if they had permission or not. They don't care if they have permission, they just care that their rights have supposedly been violated. So they would have objected anyway. I think they were being selfish; the sign was not at all saying "You should be a Christian", it was just encouragement for the athletes. Prayers are even allowed before games as long as students lead them. People who aren't "religious" don't have to participate. In the same way, people who aren't religious don't have to agree with the sign, and nobody was forcing them to. So really, their rights were not being violated.
ReplyDeleteAbby Johnson
Period 3
I agree with Jonas, they should have gotten permision bor displaying the signs. And if the schol would not let them display the signs they should have just made signs withought the bible verses on them. I think it was unnessesary for them to go to court over a proble like that.
ReplyDeletei dissagree with them because some schools are church bast os they have every right to desplay the signs. it also depeands what they put on the the sign to . just make sure it is okay with the school first.
Deletehaley armstrong
period3
guinevere henrikson p.2
ReplyDeleteI think that the cheerleaders should do it because they are worshiping god/Jesus when they are cheering.Some people don't do that and that is bad because they could be worshiping Satan.They could go to Hell if they do that because that means they might not believe some things that we believe in.Sometimes people don't have a mind at all!!!!!!!!!!They should just ban swearing and put in the nice words instead of the swearing.That means people don't care about them,but really if u think of it god created us,and if he didn't do that we wouldn't be here right now.
ReplyDeletechelsey jensen p.7
do you even know what you are talking about?
Deletefrom; ??????????
Chelsey I disagree with you.Just because people don't show their worship publicly dousn't mean their worshiping Satan, were are you coming up with that?
DeleteGuinevere Henrikson p.2
Chelsey you clearly have no idea what your talking about.
DeleteI think the cheerleaders and their families took things a little too far when they took the case to court. If I were them I would have just taken the banners down like the school ordered and made a new one! I can see where they believe they have the right to make religious-based banners to support their team, but I can also understand the school's views. Some of the players, coaches, or spectators at the football game could have been offended by the banner, and I think the school did the right thing by asking them to take it down.
ReplyDeleteBridget Erickson P7
I think they should have allowed it because there's nothing wrong with the signs they made. They were just cheering on their football team. It's not like they were holding up something inappropriate. All they were holding up was a sign with a bible verse. It's not going to hurt anybody to hear or see a verse at least once in their lifetime.
ReplyDeleteChenise Ehlers P2
That verse is NOT slamming any one in ANY way!
ReplyDeleteIn fact, it is ENCOURAGING to the football people!
It's like praying before a football game!
It is asking GOD to help them WIN.
If anything, Warroad would know what it's like wanting to get a win.
What ever happened to freedom of speech?
Especially with this?
"Let us run the race that GOD has set before us!"
Unbelievable.
Just because one person whines about it being "not fair"-does that mean that we HAD to take out the BIBLE in public schools?
Like the Pledge of Allegience.
"...One nation under GOD with liberty and justice for all."
I haven't said the pledge once this year.
Because the pledge to our country says that we are one nation under GOD?
I thought we had freedom of religion.
Katie Anderson
Hour 2
oops. I haven't said the pledge in so long that I forgot the "indivisible" part....
ReplyDeleteI think that it was the school who over-reacted they were just showing their faith. So what if it was at a football game? If it was the Muslims doing verses from the Koran in a mostly Muslim school they either wouldn't report it or would be applauded for demonstrating their faith and people who objected would be considered untolerant and shouted down. The school didn't do it, so they weren't breaking any rules.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Crowe
Period 3
There is a reason religion is not aloud in schools. It is also common knowledge that it is not acceptable to bring religion into school. If they were students in the stands and wanted to hold up religious banners, all power to them, that's their right. But it's a right of the non-religious students not to have religion pushed on them. Cheerleaders represent the school and unless every student in that school is of the same religion (A.K.A. a religious school such as a catholic school) there should be no religious representation by a public school.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think that the cheerleaders did anything wrong. They were only trying to encourage their athletes; they weren't pushing their religion on anyone. I do think that they took the whole situation a little bit overboard by bringing the case to court.
ReplyDeleteMadison Goulet
Hour 3