Cheerleaders Win Six Year Battle for Christ!

High School cheerleaders in East Texas scored a major victory for religious freedom. The Texas Supreme Court has decided not to accept the Kountze Independent School District’s latest appeal over the public school cheerleaders displaying Bible verses on banners at football games.

This legal battle started six years ago before any of the current cheerleaders were even in high school. Multiple courts have sided with the First Amendment rights of the teens to display their religious beliefs at football games, but school district officials continued fighting the cheerleaders. The school district didn’t care that the students paid for the banners themselves and no tax dollars were used.

This case became a battle to draw a line in the sand between religious and secular worlds. The cheerleaders got support from many religious organizations, First Amendment backers, and top Texas Republicans. They also had common sense on their side as they have a constitutional right to their own religious opinions.

“As the football season kicks off across Texas, it’s good to be reminded that these cheerleaders have a right to have religious speech on their run through banners — banners on which the cheerleaders painted messages they chose, with paint they paid for, on paper they purchased,” Hiram Sasser, an attorney for the cheerleaders, said after the ruling. “School districts everywhere should learn an important lesson from this failed litigation.

While the cheerleaders never used school resources for their religious banners, just imagine how much money the school district used on its prolonged six-year battle with these students. Those are resources that taxpayers intended to go to students rather than a grudge match against religion. School officials repeatedly appealed the cheerleaders’ judicial victories, but at what cost.

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The school district’s attorney Tom Brandt is still holding out hope for yet another appeal. Even though Kountze ISD has lost repeatedly, Brandt is still searching for ways to fight the First Amendment and these high school cheerleaders.

“We’re not happy with this result, but I’m not willing to say that there’s no possibility we can change this,” Brandt said. “I don’t think the case is completely over.”

Ashton, a cheerleader who was involved in this fight for religious freedom, explains in the video below how this case has affected her. Because of this David and Goliath battle, she plans to be a lawyer who gives the glory to God.

Source: Dallas Morning News