Basketball Team’s Full Court Press for Religious Liberty Pays Off

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Above: Mid Vermont Christian School basketball players outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City on April 9, 2025 (Photo Credit: Alliance Defending Freedom).

A Christian school in Vermont recently won a major legal victory — and the price tag for violating its constitutional rights was steep.

The Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) believes that human beings are created either male or female. In 2023, the MVCS girls’ basketball team decided to forfeit a game rather than violate its religious convictions by forcing its girls to play against a team with a male player. But the Vermont Principals Association decided to punish the school for forfeiting the game by kicking it out of the sports league. That led to a major court battle — and a victory for MVCS.

Now the Vermont Principals Association has agreed to pay a $566,000 settlement for damages and attorneys’ fees to Mid Vermont Christian School.

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom represented the school in court. ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman put it plainly: “The government cannot punish religious schools — and the families they serve — by permanently kicking them out of state-sponsored sports simply because the state disagrees with their religious beliefs.”

Stories like this one are part of the reason Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) in 2021 to protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

Letting men compete in women’s sports is unfair and reverses 50 years of advancements for women. Female cyclists, swimmers, powerlifters, sprinters, volleyball players, and others have seen their sports radically changed by men who claim to be women. In some cases it can even be dangerous.

Right now the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a federal case that could affect state laws like Arkansas’ Act 461. Family Council joined dozens of state policy organizations and more than 200 state legislators in a legal brief in that case last September.

Most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity. This settlement between Mid Vermont Christian School and the Vermont Principals Association is a victory for religious freedom, fairness in girls’ sports, and common sense.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas Watches as Appeals Court Rules Ten Commandments Can Stay in Texas Classrooms

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A federal appeals court ruled last week that Texans can display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

The Ten Commandments are one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and federal courts have ruled that state and local governments can recognize their longstanding tradition and influence in American society. But groups like the ACLU have opposed public displays of the Ten Commandments nationwide.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said last week that Texas’ law placing the Ten Commandments in school classrooms does not violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The court noted that “no child is required to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin.”

This is not the first victory we have seen in the 5th Circuit this year. Louisiana has a similar Ten Commandments law, and the 5th Circuit lifted an injunction against it in February.

Arkansans should pay close attention to these court cases in Texas and Louisiana. Last year, Arkansas enacted a law letting people donate posters of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms and public buildings. Unfortunately, a federal judge has ruled against the posters at schools in Arkansas.

The 5th Circuit’s decision is a strong signal that laws like Arkansas’ are on solid constitutional ground. With that in mind, we believe our federal courts ultimately will uphold the law and let Arkansans display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Louisville Pays $800K After Trying to Silence Christian Photographer

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Last month a Kentucky city learned a costly lesson about the First Amendment.

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom report Louisville has agreed to pay $800,000 in attorneys’ fees after a federal court ruled the city violated the constitutional rights of Christian photographer Chelsey Nelson. Louisville’s “Fairness Ordinance” tried to force Nelson to photograph same-sex weddings and prohibited her from explaining her religious beliefs about marriage on her own studio’s website. The court said no — and now the city is paying for it.

We have written before about Christian photographers, bakers, florists, and wedding chapel owners being dragged into court because they declined to take part in same-sex weddings or ceremonies. Time and again, courts have had to remind government officials that the First Amendment means what it says.

Nelson’s victory builds on the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2023 ruling in 303 Creative v. Elenis, which held that the government cannot force artists to create speech they disagree with. The government cannot compel Americans to say things they don’t believe — and it certainly cannot punish them for saying what they do believe.

People should be free to live and operate according to their deeply held religious convictions.

Arkansas has enacted some of the best protections for religious freedom in the country. But cases like Chelsey Nelson’s are a reminder that those protections must be defended — in court if necessary. We are grateful for organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom that are willing to fight for them.

Louisville’s $800,000 bill proves that violating the Constitution is an expensive mistake.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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