Rep Bobby Cleveland Calls For Reform of OSSAA

  The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association (OSSAA) seems to want it both ways. Sometimes they claim to act as a government education institution, yet at other times they insist they are a private club which no government can impose mandates upon.

“Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion,” Cleveland said.  “It takes an awful lot of twisting around to get the concept so backwards.”

  Rep. Bobby Cleveland of Slaughterville is calling for the resignation of the OSSAA director, Ed Sheakley. This time it's the OSSAA's declaration that they will not tolerate student groups leading a pregame prayer at events organized by the OSSAA. Sheakley insists that it would be against the law as defined by the separation clause of the US Constitution. Yet Sheakley imposes it even when Victory Christian School is competing with Bishop Kelly (two church schools). And since the OSSAA insists that they are a private club, then it is no different than when a public school travels to a church school or homeschool's home court and the host team's students lead a prayer.
  See, the OSSAA has refused several high school entities from membership by claiming that they are just a private organization and therefore the government can't force them to add all comers.
  Rep Cleveland is not alone among lawmakers. Several have presented various reforms through legislative bills. The OSSAA takes a lot of state money through the fees they charge to almost all of the 500+ high schools in Oklahoma. And the lawmakers who appropriate that money want more accountability in how the OSSAA policy is set.
Read The complaint by Rep Cleveland, here: http://goo.gl/rqhtFo

David Van Risseghem