OKLAHOMA CITY — Schools hosting high school playoff contests may allow a moment of silence before a game, but not an opening prayer over the public address system under a new policy adopted Wednesday by the association that oversees high school athletics in Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association voted unanimously to adopt the new policy after concerns were raised about whether prayer was allowed before games.
“We wanted to have language where everybody would be on the same page,” OSSAA executive director Ed Sheakley said. “We worked with the attorney general’s office, and they’re on board with this policy.”
The public address system at any OSSAA event site is not to be used as an open public forum, but schools or other playoff hosts may permit a moment of silence prior to the start of activities. If a moment of silence is offered, an announcement must be made that the time allows people to “reflect, meditate, pray, or engage in other silent activity.”
The policy applies only to playoff contests, which are sponsored by the OSSAA, and not regular or preseason games. It also applies to OSSAA-sponsored competitions like academic bowls, choir, and speech and debate contests.
Individual school districts can still decide whether to adopt a policy allowing prayer before games, although it would likely expose the district to potential legal action, OSSAA attorney Mark Grossman said.
“Any policy anybody does come up with is likely to be challenged in court, and so you have to think about the expense of defending that policy in court as well,” he said.
Attorney General Scott Pruitt issued a formal opinion last month in which he said the association’s policy prohibiting public prayer at playoff events was “constitutionally overbroad on its face.” Pruitt maintained there are certain narrowly tailored exceptions under which a student could deliver a prayer as part of opening remarks, but the OSSAA policy does not address that.
Rep. Bobby Cleveland, an outspoken critic of the OSSAA who requested that Pruitt weigh in, said he believed the association’s new policy was a fair compromise.
“I think they listened to our concern and they addressed it. I appreciate that they’ve done this,” the Slaughterville Republican said. “It’s all about the students. If the students want to be able to get up there and say a prayer, they should be able to do that.”
The OSSAA’s previous policy prohibited any school, group or organization from publicly reciting a prayer or inviting participants to pray at any OSSAA championship events or regional, area, district or other playoff events. It did not offer a moment of silence as an alternative and specifically stated that OSSAA took no position on whether a particular school should allow prayers at interscholastic events.
