Army football celebration video removed after religious freedom complaints

[rangerrebew]

Army football celebration video removed after religious freedom complaints
The video reportedly showed the coach asking an assistant staff member to lead the team in prayer

    September 9, 2016

Army football celebration video removed after religious freedom complaints

Image via YouTube

By Military1 Staff

The West Point football team pulled off an upset against the Temple Owls on Saturday, but it was a video of the post-game celebration that caused the most uproar.

Fox News reported that the video, which was posted to the team’s social media account, showed head coach Jeff Monken asking an assistant coach to lead the team in a locker room prayer. After dozens of complaints, the video was pulled, and replaced with an edited version.

According to Military Religious Freedom Foundation president Mikey Weinstein, the prayer request was a violation of the first amendment.

https://www.military1.com/misconduct-internal-affairs/article/1634505014-army-football-celebration-video-removed-after-religious-freedom-complaints/

[Doug Loss]

Did any of the team members or the coaches complain?  If not, there was no violation.  The 1st amendment guarantees that government will not make a law "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion.  If there was no coercion, there is no violation.  If some leftists are butthurt that there are believers willing to proclaim and act on their beliefs, why, there's no right for them to not be outraged.  They only make themselves look more and more like the vicious, intolerant harpies they really are.

[bolobaby]

Did any of the team members or the coaches complain?  If not, there was no violation.  The 1st amendment guarantees that government will not make a law "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion.  If there was no coercion, there is no violation.  If some leftists are butthurt that there are believers willing to proclaim and act on their beliefs, why, there's no right for them to not be outraged.  They only make themselves look more and more like the vicious, intolerant harpies they really are.

Well, there is also that pesky "establishment" of religion part that you are omitting. And, praying a Christian prayer could be seen as establishing Christianity over, say, Judaism.

Unfortunately, as written, the amendment says that "Congress shall make no law" but the courts have interpreted that to (somehow) mean, "no person acting in a governmental capacity shall take any action."

Therein lies the problem. I agree with the "establishment" part of the 1st amendment. Our ancestors fled the Church of England to worship as they pleased. So I would focus more on how the courts have twisted the actions of people into Congress making laws. There is the problem.

[rangerrebew]

The real problem is not freedom of religion.  The real problem is the courts have let the 1st amendment morph into freedom FROM religion.

[SZonian]

Mikey Weinstein is a POS...