Trendpills
A prolonged legal dispute over prayer at high school sporting events has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, as Cambridge Christian School in Tampa, Florida, seeks a final ruling on its ability to offer a pregame prayer over a stadium’s public-address system.
The case originates from the 2015 Florida Class 2A state championship football game held at Orlando's Camping World Stadium, a publicly owned venue. The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), a state actor, denied a request from Cambridge Christian to use the stadium's loudspeaker for a pregame prayer. The FHSAA cited constitutional concerns, arguing that granting access would constitute government-sponsored religious speech, violating the Establishment Clause that prohibits government endorsement of religion.
Following the denial, the school filed a lawsuit asserting its First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion were violated. The case has since journeyed through the federal court system. While a district court judge initially sided with the school, that decision was later overturned. In a key ruling this year, the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the FHSAA. The court determined that the use of the PA system at a state-run event would be considered government speech, which the FHSAA has the authority to control.
Cambridge Christian has now escalated the matter to the nation's highest court, arguing that the prayer should be considered private speech, protected by the Constitution. Attorneys for the school maintain that because students, not government officials, would lead the prayer, it does not amount to a state endorsement of religion. In response, the FHSAA has formally urged the Supreme Court to reject the case, reaffirming its position that allowing the prayer would impermissibly entangle the state with religious activity. This follows the February 2025 decision where a federal appeals court again rejected the school's appeal on the matter.
The legal proceedings in Cambridge Christian School, Inc. v. Florida High School Athletic Association, Inc. draw on precedents like Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, which previously limited student-led prayer over PA systems at school events. The Supreme Court has not yet announced whether it will hear the case.
