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Florida Officials Drop the Ball Before a State Championship Game

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November 5, 2018
First Liberty | Free Speech Fumbled

Once again, entrenched bureaucrats made another bad call.

This time, however, they’ve really dropped the ball – specifically, on the free speech front, as they fumbled students’ rights of religious expression.

What’s worse, bureaucrats blew the whistle at a state championship football game between two private, Christian high schools.

Let’s take a look at how we got here.

You – and millions of other Americans – may likely remember the late Rev. Billy Graham preaching the Gospel over a loudspeaker to tens of thousands of fervent fans inside Florida’s Citrus Bowl stadium back in the 1980’s.

Today, however, in that very same stadium – over that very same loudspeaker – students from Cambridge Christian School and another private, Christian school were forbidden by state officials from saying a pre-game prayer just before kick-off of their state football championship game.

But the real kicker in all this is that government officials – who are in charge of defending and protecting the rights of citizens – are the culprits cracking down on people of faith, especially when they want to practice their beliefs in public.

That’s the type of censorship and suppression surfacing throughout America today – and no one, not even students or teachers, seems to be off limits when state officials decide they want to stuff religious speech in a locker.

Just think about how far the consequences go. If state officials can discriminate against two private, Christian schools and prevent them from praying in public, it won’t be long before they pick and choose other types of speech to censor.

And so we ask: Where does this assault on free speech stop?

Right now, First Liberty attorneys are fighting one level below the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the students and teachers at Cambridge Christian School – because we need to make sure that bureaucratic bullies don’t continue trampling the free speech rights of our teachers and students.

Here are 5 key things you need to know about the Cambridge case, and why the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit should rule in the school’s favor:

First Liberty | 5 Things To Know Infographic

Deep-seated bureaucrats are waging a frontal assault on the First Amendment, and it’s happening so quickly and more frequently that they are virtually eliminating any “safe space” where everyday Americans – like you – can share their religious beliefs.

That’s why today, we’re asking YOU to stand strong with Cambridge Christian School. Help us win this case and affirm that it’s perfectly reasonable and legal for private, religious schools to open their football games with a prayer.


Help protect religious freedom for American students.
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