Bad Call: NBA Ejects Ref Who Asked for Religious Accommodation
Ken Mauer was an NBA referee for more than 30 years. But after the ’21-’22 season, the NBA dismissed him. Why? Because he requested a religious accommodation to the league-wide COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The NBA, however, said players could be exempt from the mandate. After the league lifted the mandate at the start of the ’22-‘23 season, Ken was never reinstated. At the time, he was the third-longest-tenured referee in league history.
What the NBA did wasn’t just wrong. It was discriminatory and illegal. The U.S. Supreme Court made clear in Groff v. DeJoy that employees must be granted a religious accommodation unless the employer faces “substantial increased cost.”
Accommodating Ken would have cost the NBA nothing. Granting his request should have been a layup. But the NBA made a bad call.
No employee should be forced to choose between their faith and their job. Years later, Ken is still fighting in court. First Liberty is now taking on his case—and we’re asking a federal district court to right the wrongs done to Ken.
Violators of Religious Speech Shouldn’t Get a Free Pass
Government officials who violate your religious liberty should be held accountable.
That’s the issue at the center of our most recent U.S. Supreme Court case involving Richard Hershey, a vegetarian advocate from Missouri. Richard was peaceably distributing religious literature about Christian vegetarianism at a Christian gathering in a public park. Police, however, forced him to leave and never return.
Richard sued, claiming his constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty were violated. He won his case in federal appeals court. But the local officials who trampled on his rights were never held accountable.
First Liberty filed a petition this week asking the Supreme Court to consider that aspect of the case.
It’s somewhat similar to street evangelist Gabe Oliver, who was also punished for sharing his faith at a public park. First Liberty secured a unanimous victory at the Supreme Court for Gabe that made clear that Americans have a right to their day in court when their rights are violated. The win made it possible for Gabe to challenge a city ordinance that bans him from evangelizing.
Richard’s case could have a similar impact. The Supreme Court has an opportunity to clarify that Americans whose First Amendment rights are violated deserve the right to hold government officials accountable. The outcome could strengthen legal protections not just for people of faith, but for all Americans.
Celebrate First Freedom Day
Because of supporters like you, First Liberty has won five landmark victories at the U.S. Supreme Court—precedent-setting cases that are restoring religious freedom across America.
That’s why we set aside June 23 as First Freedom Day.
During this special celebration, you’ll get an inside look at how these historic victories are changing lives today, hear about the critical battles still ahead, and see how God is using this movement to protect freedom for future generations.
And there’s never been a better time to stand with First Liberty.
Every gift made before midnight on June 23 will be DOUBLED through a special $20,000 First Freedom Day Matching Grant. That means your support can have twice the impact in defending and advancing our nation’s First Freedom.
As a special thank-you, your name will be added to the First Liberty Wall of Champions, a lasting tribute to those helping preserve religious liberty for generations to come.
Don’t wait for the celebration to begin. Make your First Freedom Day gift today and have it matched dollar for dollar.
Leading The Conversation | First Liberty in the News
Parents, Not Government, Direct Education, Religious Upbringing of Children – Senior Counsel Jeremy Dys on Florida Politics
The Military Needs Religious Freedom in the AI Age – Senior Counsel Christopher Motz on Washington Examiner
What the Founding Fathers’ Read – First Liberty’s Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy Senior Fellow John Wilsey in WORLD
Podcast | History for Christian Political Economy – First Liberty’s Center for Religion, Culture, & Democracy Executive Director Jordan Ballor on Humane Pursuits
Black Patriots’ Fight for a More Perfect Union
by Jayla Ward, Digital Content Specialist
During the Revolutionary War, many African-American patriots fought for the Continental Army. Men including Wentworth Cheswell, James Armistead Lafeyette, Peter Salem and Oliver Cromwell fought in pivotal battles that determined America’s future.
Wentworth Cheswell, similar to Paul Revere, warned colonists of the British arrival. Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell fought alongside Gen. George Washington and are depicted in the famous painting, “Washington Crossing the Delaware.”
James Armistead was born a slave in 1760, living most of his life on a plantation in Virginia. After receiving permission from his master, he joined the allied forces under Marquis De Lafayette. He ended up becoming a spy for the French unit, posing as a runaway slave and eventually gaining access to General Cornwallis’ command center.
Thanks to his intel, Lafayette and Washington thwarted many British advances. The most critical being the Battle of Yorktown. Armistead learned of Cornwallis’ plan to bring in reinforcements that would overwhelm the American forces. Thanks to this information, the Americans were able to build a blockade. This victory was one of the final wins that led to the end of the Revolutionary War.
However, many former slaves including Armistead were forced to return to slavery after the war, instead of earning their freedom, which warrants the question, “Why?” Why fight? Why would a slave fight for a nation that had enslaved him?
Frederick Douglass offers some insight. Like Armistead, Douglass grew up in slavery until he escaped to New York in 1883. After being free for only three years, Douglass became a renowned advocate for the abolition of slavery. During and after the Civil War he was appointed to prominent positions by Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.
In his writings, he notes how he struggled with the Founding Fathers’ seemingly contradictory character. Though they advocated for freedom, slavery was robust throughout the colonies. Yet after conducting his own research on the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other writings, he concluded that the Framers’ intent was not malicious but instead visionary.
Douglass argues in his Independence Day address that if it were to be a pro-slavery document, why can “not one word can be found in the Constitution to authorize such a belief.” It diametrically opposes it.
The Constitution is a glorious liberty document. Read its preamble; consider its purposes. Is slavery among them? Is it at the gateway? Or is it in the temple? It is neither… On the other hand, it will be found to contain principles and purposes entirely hostile to the existence of slavery.
While the Framers were not perfect, they understood that freedom should be extended to every MAN. Though they knew they may never see it in their lifetimes, the Founders created a framework that would cultivate freedom. However, it required a people willing to uphold a “more perfect union.”
Faith and religion were the lens that shaped the Founders’ view of freedom and individuals’ rights. In the Declaration of Independence, they explicitly laid out that rights come from God:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
This belief in a Sovereign Creator and his view of humanity, placed inherent value on humanity. It enshrined the conviction that every individual no matter their status deserves to be treated the way their Creator sees them.
These men weren’t fighting for the America that was—they were fighting for the America the Preamble promised: “establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”
These principles—courage, life, freedom of conscience, the right to sustain oneself, personal autonomy—are what transformed America into a safe haven for the oppressed. They are the same virtues many of us take for granted today. They were inherited from those who had the least reason to believe in them and the most reason to fight for them anyway.
For men who were enslaved, they were a beacon of hope for what tomorrow might hold.
Now, 250 years later, that hope still rings true. These principles have sustained our country not because America is the largest nation, or has the strongest economy, but because its foundational tenets still point toward “liberty and justice for all.” That is the inheritance these men fought for—and the responsibility we now carry to strive toward a more perfect union, together.
Editors’ Picks | Stories Around the Nation
Drinking the Court-Packing Kool-Aid: Buttigieg Joins Call to Take Over the Supreme Court – Jonathan Turley
The Virginia Declaration of Rights at 250 – Law & Liberty
Pete Buttigieg Throws Support Behind Democrats’ Extreme Court-Packing Gambit – The Federalist
More Countries Had Elevated Levels of Social Hostilities Involving Religion in 2023 – Pew Research
In 1649, Religious Liberty was New. A Maryland Law Helped Embed It in America’s Founding – The Christian Science
