Court Steps In
Sabbath saved: Beren Academy parents file a lawsuit, letting Jewish school playin state semifinals
The hoops dreams of Robert M. Beren Academy — the Houston Orthodox Jewish day school whose Sabbath forfeit plight has made national headlines — will live on after all. Beren gets to play in the 2A state semifinals thanks to the decision to go to court.
Beren players and parents filed a lawsuit on Thursday, seeking a temporary restraining order, essentially forcing the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) to do what many felt it should have voluntarily done in the first place: Move Beren's Friday semifinal earlier so it does not fall during the Sabbath (from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) when the devout school cannot play for religious reasons.
The Houston Chronicle reported there was a restraining order. But it turns out no restaining order has been issued yet, according to several attorneys involved in the case. TAPPS had already predetermined that it would reschedule if a lawsuit was filed. Beren quickly sent out a statement saying that the school hadn't gone to court as had been implied in the initial Chronicle story.
"We are thankful to the TAPPS for ultimately making the right decision," Beren said in its statement. "The school administration and board was not involved in any legal action and we regret that it took a lawsuit filed by parents to bring about this decision."
It turns out that a Beren players and parents filed the suit in U.S. District Court, suing TAPPS and the Mansfield Independent School District (which is hosting the games and set the initial times, which TAPPS had the power to change) for violating its religious freedoms.
Beren has been continuing to practice in hopes that a compromise could be reached that would allow it to play. Instead, even with pressure from Mayor Annise Parker, former Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy and the athlete Sports Illustrated dubbed The Jewish Jordan, it took legal action to keep the dream of the small school (67 total high school students) alive.
Beren will play Dallas Covenant in the semifinals at a time to still be determined. One that does not conflict with the Sabbath. Covenant had been told it would be playing the team that Beren beat by 27 points in the quarterfinals instead.
For more details, stay tuned to CultureMap.
