Student athletes in Panama City Schools will not be exposed to religious promotion during official school events, following intervention from FFRF.
The Panama High School football team reportedly attended a football “team” camp at Hackett High School in Arkansas. At the camp, the players were subjected to religious “testimony” by evangelist Tyson Simon, an area representative for the Western Arkansas Fellowship of Christian Athletes. According to local news, “Hackett was the destination, Simon was the vehicle, and God was definitely the focus, the message, and the reason.”
FFRF Legal Fellow Chris Line wrote to remind the district of the unconstitutionality of subjecting students to overt religious proselytization at an official team event and to request that the district “not allow its football program to be used as a captive audience for evangelists.”
The district’s new superintendent noted in a response to FFRF that coaches have been made aware of the situation and assured that such religious promotion will not occur at future team events and that each athletic camp will be pre-approved by an administrator and/or athletic director.
