FFRF has ensured that public prayers will not be announced during football games in a Tennessee school district.
It was reported to FFRF that at the start of a football game at McEwen Junior High in Waverly, Tenn., a Christian prayer was delivered over the loudspeaker. FFRF Legal Director Rebecca Markert wrote to the Humphreys County School District on Sept. 29, notifying the district that it is illegal for a public school to sponsor a religious message at school athletic events. Markert requested that immediate steps be taken to end the use of district resources to project prayer to the public.
On Oct. 13, the school district superintendent informed FFRF that the McEwen Junior High principal had addressed the issue with the school staff to ensure the violation would not recur.
