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A civil liberties group has filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a high school football coach who was told he could not bow his head silently or get down on bended knee during student-initiated prayer before games. In October 2005, East Brunswick High School officials in New Jersey adopted a policy which forbade school officials from taking part in student-initiated prayer, arguing that while student athletes had the right to pray, that does not apply to coaches, because they are public employees and their participation would violate the so-called "separation of church and state." In July 2006, a federal...

Controversy erupts over pregame prayer: Parents allege East Brunswick football coach Marcus Borden violated federal laws protecting separation of church and state in public schools by initiating prayers Home News Tribune Online 10/9/05 By GREG TUFARO - STAFF WRITER gtufaro@eastbrun.gannett.com EAST BRUNSWICK — East Brunswick High School football coach Marcus Borden resigned in protest yesterday after school officials told the national-award-winning mentor he could no longer initiate or participate in team prayer. Offered no explanation for Borden's absence, confused players took the field against Sayreville on Friday night without their veteran head coach of 23 years. Borden opted to forgo...

There are signs of faith and prayer everywhere you look in sports these days. The huddle of players kneeling in prayer on the field after every NFL game. Basketball players making the sign of the cross before shooting a free throw. Fingers pointed toward the sky after home runs and touchdowns. Signs for chapel services in baseball clubhouses. Bible study and Christian fellowship groups at high school and college campuses across the country. "I don't think a relationship with the Lord only occurs in church or only in your own private lives," says Washington basketball coach Lorenzo Romar. "Every moment...

Marcus Borden, the head football coach at East Brunswick for the last 23 seasons, has submitted his resignation. Borden, who could not be reached for comment, was summoned to a meeting with Dr. Jo Ann Magistro, the East Brunswick Public Schools superintendent, on Friday after the issue of pre-game team prayer had been brought to the administration's attention. Trish LaDuca, the coordinator of community relations and programs for East Brunswick Public Schools, said the superintendent's office was informed early in the week that there was prayer activity taking place at the team's pre-game dinners.

Oct. 11 EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A veteran central New Jersey high school football coach has resigned after being told by school officials he could no longer lead his team in pregame prayer. East Brunswick coach Marcus Borden was told last Friday by Schools Superintendent Jo Ann Magistro that some parents had complained about prayers Borden initiated at pregame meals and before the games. After being told he would have to stop leading or taking part in the prayers, Borden stepped down from his position, just hours before his team's 21-0 loss to Sayreville that evening. "I'm very disappointed," Borden...

Jack Howard for The New York Times The high school football coach Marcus Borden is suing the school district in East Brunswick, N.J., for banning him from leading his players in prayer. The team finished its season yesterday. EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J., Nov. 24 - In small towns across the land, high school football is a slice of Americana served up on Thanksgiving before the pumpkin and pecan pies...snip ...last year, the Bears lost to the Knights but went on to win the highly competitive Central Jersey Group IV championship. This year, the team has attracted national attention for reasons...

Marcus Borden walked into his office, turned off the lights and sat down in a chair. Faced with the biggest decision of his coaching career, the veteran East Brunswick High School mentor closed his teary eyes. Twenty-three years of memories — some of which were scattered across the walls in photos and plaques — came flooding back in a wave of emotion. Through the darkness, Borden could see the past. The future, however, was much less clear. "I just looked around and around and I said, "I'm in a bind here,' " Borden recalled of the moments leading to his...

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the East Brunswick High School football coach can bend a knee and bow his head while his players recite pre-game prayers this season, ending a dispute that had mushroomed into a nationally recognized test of the separation of church and state. After nearly two hours of arguments, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh sided with the coach, Marcus Borden, declaring "taking a knee" isn't praying and that the Middlesex County school district can't order him to stand still while his players perform a locker room ritual that spans decades. "Tradition plays a part, and the...

An award-winning New Jersey high school football coach who was barred by his school district from partaking in pre-game prayers with his players has filed suit alleging that his constitutional rights have been violated. Marcus Borden's lawsuit, filed with the Middlesex County Superior Court, asks that the court prohibit the East Brunswick school district from enforcing its policy on prayer. Borden wants to be able to silently nod his head during team prayers before pre-game meals with players and to kneel on one knee with the team in the locker room before the games, actions that violate the current policy....