_ September 3,1999, The Behrend Beacon, page ll
■ Sports —1
Don’t Get Me Started
Teams battle courts for right to pray
For many athletes, part of their pre
game ritual includes a prayer asking
their creator, whomever it might be,
for protection during the game.
Sometimes prayers are led by
coaches or students inside the locker
room or before the national anthem.
But according to a recent ruling by
the sth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
pregame prayers are illegal.
In Texas, where high school foot
ball is extremely popular, pregame
prayers have become an integral part
of the game. For years, students have
led the fans and teams in prayer be
fore the game begins. In Santa Fc,
Texas, any student w ho leads a prayer
Under a 7-year review, replay is back
iy Curt Sylvester
Cnight-Ridder Newspapers
After a seven-year absence, instant
eplay is back in the NFL. The new
system - which is in effect for one
season - allows coaches to challenge
officials calls. The final decision will
ie made by officials on the Held rather
han in the press box. Each team gels
wo challenges a game. If the chal
enge isn’t upheld, the team will be
charged with a time-out. During the
ast two minutes of each half, ehal
enges will be taken out of the hands
of the coaches. During that time a re-
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at this Friday’s game will be "disci
plined as if they had cursed says su
perintendent Richard Ownby. Under
pressure Irom the superintendent,
Stephanie Vega, who normally leads
play official in the press box will de
cide if a play should be reviewed.
All replay reviews will be con
ducted by the referee on a sideline
monitor after consultation with the
official who made the initial call. Only
if the replay shows indisputable vi
sual evidence will a play be reversed.
Reviewable plays are those gov
erned by the sideline, goal line, end
/one and end line. That includes scor
ing plays, passes, out-of-bounds de
cisions and fumbles. In general, the
system covers complete or incomplete
passes, touching of a pass, illegal
passes, runners not down by contact.
Students!
From,
Line Cooks
Bus People
Competitive Wages!
Econo-Lodge
the students in prayer, has changed
her mind. Vega says that, “she
doesn’t want to get expelled for us
ing the word God in a reverent man
ner.”
The ruling has prompted several
schools across the country to ban
prayer by the students or coaches be
fore the game. For the most part,
players and coaches pray so that no
one gets hurt and rarely does anyone
object to praying. Under the court
ruling, coaches can no longer lead a
team prayer before or after the game.
If the coach does lead a prayer, that
will say that he is showing preference
towards one religion or another,
touching of a kick and number of
players on the field.
The maximum time to be used in
reviewing a play is 90 seconds. The
other significant rule change involves
handling of the footballs to be used
by punters and placekickers. They no
longer are allowed to break in new
footballs by rubbing them up and
working on them.
Because some teams over- or un
der-inflated balls or altered them in
other ways, such as putting them in a
dryer, the NFL ruled that only new
balls - stamped with a K - will be used
in kicking situations.
which under the current interpretation
of the law, is illegal for any school
employee to do.
The American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), claims that when a
coach leads his team in prayer he is
forcing his personal beliefs on the
players. But the way I see it, is if a
player is offended by the prayer, that
player can refuse to take part in it.
For many athletes, prayer is an im
portant part of their preparation for
the game. The prayer unites the team
and helps them focus on the task at
hand. To take away this crucial part
of the game is an injustice.
Now I will go along with the ab-
New rules in college football: so long, do-rags
by Curt Sylvester
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
Last year, the NCAA went after
socks. The fashion cops wanted them
visible - and matching for teammates.
They made it a rule. This year, the
fashion rules-makers addressed an
other delicate issue - bandannas.
They’re out in college football - at
least if they are visible.
So long, do-rags.
“The theory of the coaches was that
sometimes bandannas denote gang
membership,” said John Adams,
ran
sept.
SEPT.
sence of prayer in the classroom, but
this ruling has gone too far. Has our
society been degraded so far that we
now refuse to recognize religion?
Apparently it has and it is time for
the American public to lash back
against these types of rulings that un
dermine our value base. For years,
coaches and players have said prayers
before games, now all of a sudden it
has become illegal. It should be ex
pected from a court system that grants
multimillion dollar settlements to
people who spill hot coffee on them
selves. The political correctness and
“I can’t say that because it might of
fend someone” envelope has been
NCAA football rules committee sec
retary and rules editor. "When you
have a visible bandanna on the field
of play, it’s a penalty. The penalty is a
charged time-out. If a kid has a ban
danna on and it’s covered by the hel
met, it’s OK.”
Adams has heard complaints that
the rule is directed at black players,
“but it’s not,” he said. “Coaches just
thought it wasn’t part of the game. It
doesn’t have anything to do with any
thing racial.”
yardage
2 mmm
16 DEEP BAHAMA BLACKOUT
Two rules changes affect penalty
pushed too far. We shouldn’t have to
constantly worry about offending'
someone if we really believe in what
we say and it is said in good taste.
To my knowledge these prayers only
asked that no one got hurt and that
the players gave 100% of their talent
to the task before them. Nowhere do
I see any phrases that would directly
offend one person or another. It's time
to get out of this "I can’t say that"
mentality and back into reality.
What’s next, they will say that we
can’t wear jewelry that symbolizes
religion. Oops I forgot the govern
ment already outlawed that. Will the
madness ever end?
- Holding behind the line of scrim
mage will be penalized 10 yards from
the previous spot of the ball, not from
the spot of the foul. This will elimi
nate 14- and 16-yard holding penal
ties, which occurred when a lineman
was penalized for an infraction behind
the line.
- Intentional grounding will result in
a loss of down from the spot of the
foul, not a loss of down and a five
yard penalty from the spot of the foul.
If a quarterback is called for ground
ing at his 43, the next play will start
there.
HAPPENS HUE