An issue of fair pray

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- This is not the typical place for a jihad.

This is not the Middle East; it's East Brunswick, a nice town midway between the stinking refineries of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Jersey Shore.

It's an unusual battleground for the holy war being waged between an intense high school football coach, who sued and won the right to bow his head and take a knee during student-initiated pregame prayers, and the local school district, which told the coach he could not lead his team in prayer or even participate with the players.

"Am I a religious guy?" said coach Marcus Borden. "You mean, am I a religious freak? No, of course not. I'm just an average Joe. I'm not a spiritual guy. I'm not preachy. I'm not a member of the fellowship of Christian athletes. I'm a high school football coach that has certain beliefs, just like every coach in this country. And I believe strongly in certain things. Traditions and honor."

Borden, 51, whose style is part Parcells, part Patton, says team prayer was a tradition that started before he came to East Brunswick High 24 years ago.

The team prays twice before every game -- in student-led grace at a pasta dinner in the cafeteria and again moments before game time when every player takes a knee. Borden says it was out of "respect and deference" for his players that he symbolically bowed his head and took a knee with his team.

The school, tipped by upset parents, says he was opening a constitutional can of worms and violating the separation of church and state.

The controversy began Oct. 7, 2005, when Borden, an award-winning coach and tenured Spanish instructor, says he was "ambushed" on game day by school officials. They told him to cease leading his team in prayer -- or even participating in a student-initiated prayer -- or face disciplinary action. Borden cleaned out his office and resigned by e-mail that afternoon, leaving his team confused. The football team was shut out that night by Sayreville. But the coach reconsidered the next day after 100 players, parents, and coaches arrived at his house en masse in a pouring rain. He received pro bono legal representation 10 days later.

Borden, who filed suit the next month, claiming his constitutional rights were being violated, agreed not to participate in team prayer -- not to even look at his shoes -- until the courts could decide the issue. A media circus cast a cloud over the 2005 season. The Bears, Central Jersey Group IV champions in 2004, suddenly lost their focus and dropped their last eight games.

Randall Nixon, the starting quarterback, spoke about distractions affecting morale. "It was awkward to watch Coach Borden remain motionless while the team prayed " he said.

Last July 25, US District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh ruled in favor of Borden, stating that taking a knee isn't praying and that the school violated Borden's constitutional right of free speech, privacy, personal autonomy, freedom of association, and academic freedom.

"For the coach, who is looked at as the glue to hold all of this together and foster team spirit, to not be allowed to participate in these traditions -- even in the passive way -- just doesn't seem right," Cavanaugh said.

As the 2006 season begins, weird things are happening in East Brunswick. A goalpost trembles nonstop -- despite no wind or vibrations in the area -- all through the opener as the Bears destroy Perth Amboy, 57-12.

"It's just a phenomenon," Borden said. "Nobody knows why."

Borden doesn't want to gloat, but he calls the court decision "a victory for every coach in America."

No parents or students were named in the lawsuit. Borden says the complaint came from a cheerleader who was invited to a pregame pasta meal where grace was said. Borden denies that any of his football players complained, as the school department has claimed.

"Why would a player complain? We pray that everybody on both teams is safe," Borden said. "It's a tradition for 23 years and it started before I got here."

What bothered Borden most was that he felt isolated from his team.

"I sat in my chair like I was in a straitjacket," he said. "I had to look straight ahead. I had my hands on my knees. I couldn't look up or down. I felt like I was restricted. It was unbelievable.

"The most difficult thing was going into the locker room after having been in the game for 38 years and I look up and there's this water pipe that went across the ceiling and there's three padlocks on them and I thought, 'How symbolic is that?' I felt like my hands were padlocked. I felt like my heart was padlocked. I was locked out of this whole thing with my kids because of this absurdity."

After the ruling, East Brunswick school superintendent Jo Ann Magistro issued a statement saying that the district could now move forward.

"The district has accomplished its goal, which was to get direction from the court as to what Mr. Borden could and could not do," she said.

But last month, the school district, which is liable for Borden's legal costs -- estimated to be as much as $100,000 -- has decided to appeal the decision, this time with its own pro bono representation from the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

"The coach is engaged in the promotion of religion, and that's not something that's appropriate in his role as a coach, if he does it quietly or not so quietly," said Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the organization. "We think the school board was right to tell him after his long history of violating the constitution this was one more way in which he was attempting to participate in organized religious activities as an employee of the school."

Lynn was surprised with the judge's decision in light of the 2000 Supreme Court ruling that said Texas public schools may not begin football games with student-organized prayer.

Borden says he is prepared to take the fight to the Supreme Court.

"I'm not going to back down at this point," he said. "As you know, the constitution of the United States says the government cannot be hostile to religion, either.

"I believe kids ought to be allowed to say grace before a meal because their parents prepared a meal for them and they are saying thank you and I don't believe there's anything wrong in that. I did not ask to pray with my team; I asked to be present, to bow my head out of respect for them. And to be able take a knee like all football teams do, out of respect for my team.

"That's all I asked. I didn't ask to pray or lead a prayer with them. That's what I won that case on. Not everybody believes that's what I'm doing."

Said Lynn, "Anybody who knows anything about high school athletics knows that if you get on the wrong side of the coach -- if you don't in this case participate in religious activities -- you're going to fear that you're going to get less playing time, and that's going to hurt your chances both on the team and in the future if you want to play collegiate sports. It's destructive to students for a coach to participate in promotion of religion. We think the school is right and the appeal will vindicate the school."

Martin Pachman, attorney for the East Brunswick School District, says the appeal was filed on constitutional principles.

"When he bows his head or takes a knee, that is clearly participation in prayer," said Pachman, "and for him to argue that is a gesture of respect is disingenuous."

Borden, a church-going Catholic, doesn't deny that he led prayers in the past, including before the 2004 state championship game in the end zone at Rutgers University. Borden recalled, "I gave a prayer: 'Dear Lord, let us go out today and play to the best of our ability. Let us make our community proud, our family, our friends. Let us represent our school with class and dignity. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to play in the state championship. And lastly please take care of our players and our opponent that they all come out healthy from the game. Amen.'

"The fans knew exactly what I was saying and they were cheering. It was never about saying, 'You have to do this. Either you pray or you don't play.' No one ever said that. That's absurdity."

John Woroniecki, a 2003 East Brunswick alumnus who played free safety, defensive end, and backup quarterback, said of the controversy, "It was one of the dumbest things people could ever complain about. I don't believe in any religion, so if anybody should be offended, it should be [me].

"But I'd sit there out of respect and kind of bow my head and think about what you want to think about. I'd focus on plays. They'd say, 'I hope everybody comes out of this game OK.' [Coach] just kind of stood and bowed his head."

Woroniecki's brother, Rob, who played for Borden last year, was furious with the school board.

"I don't like them," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, he wasn't pushing his religion. He wasn't stepping on anyone's toes, and I think the school board was wrong."

Scott Conover, a former Detroit Lions offensive tackle and head coach of Perth Amboy, supports Borden.

"I don't feel it's wrong," Conover said. "It's something positive. It's not like he's forcing it on anybody. Anything that's positive that has discipline and is a motivator, that's what we need to do.

"It's a shame. He means well for our young people and he's there for the community. You've got to respect him. Marcus is a great guy and a great role model, very positive in this community and high school football in the state."

The president of the East Brunswick Quarterback Club thinks the school board has fumbled a nonissue.

"Why are they fighting goodness?" said Nancy Halupka, whose son plays for Borden.

Borden has instructed his team not to talk about the prayer issue with the media. Nixon was asked about it by a reporter. That's when Borden really turns into a Bear.

"I don't want to have my players be caught up in this anymore," he said. "You understand? My kids have been through hell. You don't know how much my kids have gone through. I don't want to drag my kids through this anymore. We're not letting them get affected. You have to respect me on this, you have to leave Randall out. I want to leave my players out. This is not their fight.

"What I asked to do is what everybody does in this country in high school football across America."

Grant Teaff, a former Baylor head coach and executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, supports Borden's cause.

"This is an unscientific estimate, but I'd say well over 50 percent of the coaches have prayers before a game," Teaff said. "To take that knee is such a feeling of unity."

But Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, thinks it's not that simple.

"The bottom line is that coaches have to be conscious of the fact that they've got a diverse group of people that they are leading," Roby said. "They can't always impart their values on others. They have to be respectful of what other people's backgrounds and cultures are.

"We need to educate more coaches on the issues of differences and diversity and the appreciation of those differences, so people can feel safe and welcomed and part of a larger community."

Borden says priorities in sport are out of whack.

"My job as football coach is to make kids appreciate what they have, OK?" he said. "They can't take everything they have for granted in life. There are people that work hard for them and that's what we're trying to teach them in life. We're teaching them the right things about life."

Borden says that's a lot better than coaches constantly spewing expletives.

"I'm doing something good, they're cursing, and I'm being told if I continue I'm going to be fired," he said. "What's wrong with that picture?"