Basketball tournaments on the Sabbath

[Richard D. Friedman]

The TAPPS website, http://www.tapps.net/, indicates that they agreed 
to let Beren play when presented with the papers, before they were 
actually filed.  But the lawyer who signed the complaint -- which 
included the application for the TRO -- confirmed to me that the 
papers were indeed filed.  I get the impression that TAPPS, while 
saying adamantly that they were going to adhere to their schedule, 
decided they would fold quickly if sued; I think someone there 
finally realized that they were not casting themselves in a favorable light.

Rich Friedman

At 07:19 PM 3/2/2012, you wrote:
>It would look less like a discrimination claim and more like an 
>exemption claim. Judges tend to naively assume that the calendar is 
>a neutral set of rules, and the sharply different treatment of 
>Sunday and Saturday here would make it more obvious than usual that 
>that just isn't true.
>
>By the way, I was confused about chronology. The complaint was 
>filed, and TAPPS caved, yesterday. There was another story in the 
>Times this morning. Haven't heard the score of the game.
>
>On Fri, 2 Mar 2012 23:11:44 +0000
>  "Finkelman, Paul 
> <paul.finkelman at albanylaw.edu>"       <Paul.Finkelman at albanylaw.edu> wrote:
> >I am guessing that the leaders of this organization never dreamed 
> of a Jewish basketball team going to the finals.  They never heard 
> of Dolph Shayes or Nancy Lieberman.
> >
> >
> >
> >More seriously:  If the organization (which includes many 
> Christian schools) played games on Sundays, would the Hebrew high 
> school be in a weaker position?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >*************************************************
> >Paul Finkelman, Ph.D.
> >President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
> >Albany Law School
> >80 New Scotland Avenue
> >Albany, NY 12208
> >
> >518-445-3386 (p)
> >518-445-3363 (f)
> >
> >paul.finkelman at albanylaw.edu<mailto:paul.finkelman at albanylaw.edu>
> >www.paulfinkelman.com<http://www.paulfinkelman.com/>
> >*************************************************
> >
> >________________________________
> >From: religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu 
> [religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] on behalf of Ira Lupu [iclupu at law.gwu.edu]
> >Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 6:03 PM
> >To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics
> >Subject: Re: Basketball tournaments on the Sabbath
> >
> >Today's first semi-final: Houston Beren 58, Dallas Covenant 46 -- 
> final is after sundown tomorrow evening.
> >
> >Thanks, Doug.
> >
> >On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 5:48 PM, Ed Darrell 
> <edarrell at sbcglobal.net<mailto:edarrell at sbcglobal.net>> wrote:
> >If your position is utterly untenable as a matter of public 
> relations, it may not matter that the other side's state action 
> theory is very weak. But they had to file the lawsuit before common 
> sense could prevail.
> >
> >One more demonstration of the value of lawyers.  Good news that 
> they've scheduled the game to fit it in.  Good, good news.
> >
> >Ed Darrell
> >Dallas
> >
> >________________________________
> >From: Alan Brownstein 
> <aebrownstein at ucdavis.edu<mailto:aebrownstein at ucdavis.edu>>
> >To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics 
> <religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu<mailto:religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu>>
> >Sent: Fri, March 2, 2012 3:35:05 PM
> >Subject: RE: Basketball tournaments on the Sabbath
> >
> >A somewhat  similar lawsuit was litigated by students attending 
> the Portland Adventist Academy (and their parents) against the 
> Oregon State Activities Association which is a state actor. After 8 
> years of litigation, the students succeeded in their state 
> anti-discrimination claims. See Nakashima v. Bd. Of Educ., 334 Or. 487 (2008)
> >
> >Alan Brownstein
> >
> >
> >
> >From: 
> religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu<mailto:religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu> 
> [mailto:religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu<mailto:religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu>] 
> On Behalf Of Douglas Laycock
> >Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 11:48 AM
> >To: 'Law & Religion issues for Law Academics'
> >Subject: Basketball tournaments on the Sabbath
> >
> >Some of you may have seen the story in the Times the other day 
> about the Beren Hebrew Academy in Houston, whose basketball team 
> has reached the state semi-finals of the Texas Association of 
> Private and Parochial Schools tournament. The semifinal game was 
> scheduled for tonight; the Academy is Orthodox and observant, and 
> could not play.  The other school was willing to reschedule, but 
> the TAPPS Board voted 8-0 not to allow that. Most TAPPS members are 
> church affiliated, and as a matter of policy, it never schedules 
> games on Sunday.
> >
> >Beren parents and students filed a lawsuit this morning in the 
> Northern District of Texas, alleging unconstitutional religious 
> discrimination, Texas RFRA, and breach of contract (based on a 
> provision in the TAPPS bylaws). The complaint's state action theory 
> was that the game was scheduled to be played in a public school 
> gym, which is surely not enough. The contract claim looked 
> stronger, judging only by the complaint.
> >
> >Richard Friedman at Michigan tells me that TAPPS caved as soon as 
> the complaint was filed, and that the game will begin imminently 
> and will be completed before sunset.  If your position is utterly 
> untenable as a matter of public relations, it may not matter that 
> the other side's state action theory is very weak. But they had to 
> file the lawsuit before common sense could prevail.
> >
> >Douglas Laycock
> >Robert E. Scott Distinguished Professor of Law
> >University of Virginia Law School
> >580 Massie Road
> >Charlottesville, VA  22903
> >     434-243-8546<tel:434-243-8546>
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >To post, send message to 
> Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu<mailto:Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu>
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> >
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> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >Ira C. Lupu
> >F. Elwood & Eleanor Davis Professor of Law
> >George Washington University Law School
> >2000 H St., NW
> >Washington, DC 20052
> >(202)994-7053
> >My SSRN papers are here:
> >http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=181272#reg
>
>Douglas Laycock
>Robert E. Scott Distinguished Professor of Law
>University of Virginia Law School
>580 Massie Road
>Charlottesville, VA  22903
>      434-243-8546
>_______________________________________________
>To post, send message to Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu
>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see 
>http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
>
>Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed 
>as private.  Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that 
>are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can 
>(rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.