Are churches "public venues" for NFL purposes?

[Ed Darrell]

I was interested to see a story in the Los Angeles Times today saying churches were frantically cancelling their planned Super Bowl parties because the NFL claims they are illegal.  The NFL claims it is illegal to put the football game on any television screen larger than a "living-room-size," or less than 55 inches.  Story here:  http://www.latimes.com/sports/football/nfl/la-na-super3feb03,1,1708801.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-nfl
   
  I would have thought that churches are not public venues, but are instead private associations?  
   
  I'm not sure that I'd want to defend a right for a church congregation to watch an NFL game, but I wonder if the NFL hasn't overreached here, just a bit.
   
  Your opinions?
   
  Ed Darrell
  Dallas
   
  Louisville Courier-Journal:  http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/SPORTS/70201053
  Indianapolis Star:  http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/SPORTS03/70201036
   
   
   
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/religionlaw/attachments/20070203/63f5fadc/attachment.htm