An old iRumor about Jody McCloud, the principal at the Roane County High School in Kingston, Tennessee that went viral on the Internet in 2000. He allegedly welcomed spectators at a football game over the public address system and told them that it was a regular custom to begin the event with a prayer, but a decision by the Supreme Court forbade them from doing that. After a short statement expressing his opinion on the matter. He then told the spectators that if they desired to pray before the game that they were welcome to do so.
iRumorMill.com Determination: Real
Jody McCloud did give a speech in September 2000 to a group of high school football spectators. News of the speech went viral on the Web. Many would think that this would be the end of the story, but there is an interesting update.
According to an March 2, 2012 article by WBIR, an NBC affiliate in Knoxville, TN, McCloud's rebellion sparked lawmakers in Tennessee to meet with the educator and eventually pass bill to allow prayer on the campuses of public schools in the "The Volunteer State." The article said, "Former Congressmen Zach Wamp met with McLoud after he spoke at the football game." McCloud's prayer was even read out loud by Congressman John Duncan Jr. on the floor of the U.S. Capitol.
WBIR reported that 12 years after the incident, on March 1, 2012, TN House Bill 3266 was passed unanimously by the Tennessee House to permit coaches and teachers the right to pray with students. The ACLU expressed their view on the issue. Executive Director of the ACLU in Tennessee, Hedy Weinberg, released a statement saying, "We like to recognize that Sunday schools are not public schools." Nevertheless, the bill was strongly supported by citizens in the Kingston area as well as the most of East Tennessee.
Posted 10/14/14
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