Urban Legends: Ron Brown Arrested for Praying?

Today I heard a new urban legend. Coach Ron Brown was supposedly threatened with arrest at midfield for praying with his players following Husker football games. When the purveyor of this story was questioned as to who was supposedly arresting him, since praying (despite what the religious right wing would have us believe) is not illegal, he responded that it was against NCAA rules to conduct prayer meetings. This story allegedly came from the mouth of Ron Brown himself, although a quick Google search yielded no mention of this incident. What I did find was a complaint by the ACLU, threatening to sue if Nebraska public schools continued to invite Brown and another gentleman whose name escapes me to address student assemblies on the subject of drugs and alcohol (Brown is against kids using them by the way). The ACLU's beef is that Brown's message usually is a Christian message and often (if not always) changes from a talk on the danger of using drugs and alcohol to an exhortation to students to accept Jesus and an "altar call", inviting those who want to commit to the Christian lifestyle to come forward, kind of like an evangelical service. The ACLU questions whether a public school should host an overtly religious program.

Going back to the urban legend that I opened with. I seriously doubt that Coach Brown is spinning this tale, since it appears false. By all accounts he is a good role model, citizen and coach. It seems like a case of the old game of "telephone" where the original story changes and grows with the retelling. However, it is indicative of the attitude among some Christians that they, despite being the majority religion in the United States and the western world, despite their religion being the cultural spiritual default position, despite their religious observances being in some instances national holidays, are a persecuted minority.

Regarding the prayer after football games; despite the "optional" nature of these prayer meetings, I imagine that it would be difficult, in an atmosphere promoting team spirit and camaraderie, to opt out without being subject to pressure to conform. While I have no problem with Brown's faith, I wonder if most Nebraskans would find it so positive, or if they would be satisfied with "optional" if the prayer meeting addressed Ganesh, the Hindu remover of obstacles, or if Brown were a Wiccan casting a circle of protection or...well, use your imagination.

By the way, here is a link to another point of view

http://www.redstatereport.com/2010/09/aclu-threatens-to-sue-schools-husker-football-coach/

I agree with the linked article that the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech as well as freedom of religion. What I don't agree with is that the public schools or anyone else is required to accommodate him. If he was speaking at an open meeting, or a fund raiser, or in somebody's backyard I would be behind him 100%; I recognize that many people, some whom I know personally, have beat addictions and other harmful behavior with the help of their Christian faith. What I disagree with is that a public school, a place that should be neutral toward religion, where someone who is not religious or not a part of the majority religion should feel pressured by a figure such as Brown.