A federal judge is recommending dismissal of a lawsuit brought against the Florida High School Athletic Association by a private school in Tampa.
Cambridge Christian School says the state sports association violated the Florida and U.S. Constitutions when it denied the use of a public-address system for a pre-game prayer at Orlando's Camping World Stadium.
The school made the request before a state championship football game in 2015.
In the recommendation, the magistrate judge said the case should be dismissed, in part because the teams were able to pray on the field, though they couldn't use the loudspeaker.
Jeremy Dys, a lawyer for the private school, says the report doesn't mean the matter is settled.
"We're preparing right now our objections and responses to that recommendation by the magistrate,” he said. “And then it'll take some time for the district court judge to evaluate that and to determine what the court is ultimately going to do."
Cambridge Christian School says the athletic association violated religious freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The association, which manages high school sports in Florida, maintains it could not legally grant permission because the stadium is a public facility.
