FFRF sidelines Kentucky prayer

FFRF won out over athletic prayer in Inez, Ky., for the second time. The first victory at Sheldon Clark High School was last fall after the school sanctioned illegal prayers over the public address system before both football games.

Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert first wrote to the School District on Sept. 6, 2011. Two weeks later, FFRF received a response from School District Attorney John Triplett, who claimed the prayers weren’t being said before games.

A few weeks later, local complainants again took issue with pregame prayers, only this time before basketball games. The prayers were student-initated and broadcast over the intercom system. Markert wrote a Dec. 21 letter asking SCHS again to end school-sponsored prayer.

In a Jan. 10 letter of reply, Triplett wrote: “[I] was assured that the principal understood the correct procedure ‘no school supported prayer at school events’ and was assured that this would not happen in the future at either or any other events at the school.”

Freedom From Religion Foundation