A website photo featuring Naperville Central’s football team huddled in what seemed like a position of prayer has sparked a third-party complaint against District 203. The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed the complaint against the district on Dec. 8, alleging a “serious and flagrant violation of the First Amendment” and demanding a district investigation into the possibility that head football coach Mike Stine led his team in prayer before a game.

Legal fellows Ryan Jayne and Diane Uhl from FFRF sent a letter to Superintendent Dan Bridges concerning a complaint about a team prayer said by the football team as depicted in the photo, taken before Central’s Nov. 14 playoff game against Waubonsie Valley.  According to Jayne, the complaint came from an anonymous member of FFRF who saw the photo, which the Chicago Tribune has since credited to Naperville-area photographer and Central alumnus David Neesley.

The letter to Bridges includes examples of court cases in which the Supreme Court struck down school-sponsored prayer. It also states that Stine “represents the school and the team when he acts in his official role as head coach of the Redhawks,” which, they go on to argue, renders his participation in a team prayer unconstitutional.

Jayne told the Central Times that his organization is interested in settling the matter outside of court.

“We always hope to resolve these matters as simply as possible, and we want to give schools the chance to do the right thing, and they typically do,” Jayne said. “But taking it to court does happen.”

After two days without a response, the FFRF received a letter from Bridges today, stating that he spoke with athletic directors at both district high schools to make it clear that coaches that they are not allowed to lead students in prayer.

Jayne has indicated that the FFRF is not satisfied with Bridges’ response, calling it “not enough” in his correspondence with District 203. He reiterated a further request that Bridges tell the coaches and athletic directors that they also cannot participate in any student-led religious activities. If the football team were to have student-led prayer, none of the coaches could be involved.

This is not the first time the FFRF has engaged in this kind of exchange. In a similar case, the watchdog group sued the Emanuel County Schools in Swainsboro, Ga. in August of 2014. The complaint concerned teachers at Swainsboro Primary School pressuring students to participate during in-class prayer. The lawsuit was dismissed on Oct. 6, 2015 after in-school prayer was stopped.

The Central Times is not currently aware of any further communication with FFRF by Bridges or any other representatives of District 203. Stine was contacted for this story but declined to comment.

UPDATE: Friday, Dec. 11, 9:00 a.m. 

This morning, Central’s football players had a meeting during which they crafted the following statement and sent it to ABC7.

“We, as a football team and a family, give Coach Stine our full support. He is the best coach in the state and cares about each and every one of us more than any other coach cares about his players. We are proud that he is willing to stand up for his faith and for the example he sets for us. He is a role model for every one of us in a world where true male role models are becoming few and far between. The players will continue this tradition of praying before our games and would like to extend an invitation to all members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation to come out next fall and watch us pray and play the game we love. Go Redhawks.”

UPDATE: Thursday, Dec. 17, 12:10 p.m. 

While the Central Times is not aware of any further correspondence between Bridges and FFRF, new information has come to light on the issue.

The complainant who sent the link with the photos in question has been revealed. Hemant Mehta, former Nequa Valley math teacher and current speech team coach was the one who sent the original tip to FFRF. He runs a blog called the Friendly Athiest where, according to the Daily Herald, he received communication from an anonymous reader. The reader alerted Mehta to the prayer and asked whether that broke any constitutional laws. It was after this that he raised the issue with FFRF, which then sent the complaint to Bridges.

Also in regard to this complaint, FFRF received communication from sender who they only revealed as the parent of two Central alumni. He or she sent a stocking full of coal along with the following note:

Dear Freedom from Religion Foundation,

As the parent of two alumni of Naperville Central High School athletes, I have decided that your disgusting action against the Redhawks football team earned you a bag of coal for Christmas. Since it came from an old coal yard, I hope it gives you no warmth this winter.

Sincerely,

[ REDACTED ]

Photo courtesy of FFRF

This story is still developing and will be updated as we receive more information.