Drew Brees and the Importance of Religious Freedom in School and Work

When Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback, endorsed “Bring Your Bible to School Day,” he received a lot of criticism from the “woke” culture. Nonetheless, the Constitution protects Brees’ freedom of speech as well as the right of students to read their Bibles at school. Building on these principles, First Liberty has successfully defended individuals maligned for expressing their faith in the academic and professional spheres. Learn more at FirstLiberty.org/Briefing. Drew Brees is not only a Super Bowl winning quarterback, he’s been an outspoken advocate for several issues dear to his heart.  That includes his faith. But when he cut a public service announcement for a project by Focus on the Family called, “Bring Your Bible to School Day,” the woke, cancel culture whipped itself into the usual frenzy. The whole situation made me think of a few of our past clients. For instance, officials in Georgia removed Dr. Eric Walsh from being a public health official over something he said in a sermon as a lay minister.  Giovanni Rubeo, just 12 years old at the time, was told he could not read his Bible during free reading time at school.  Drew Brees probably won’t lose his job like Dr. Walsh did, but I worry about kids who actually do bring their Bible to school, like Giovanni did.  While the law is crystal clear that students have every right to carry, read, and reference their Bible at school, we all brace for the next student who runs up against the teacher who doesn’t think the student should have the freedom to do so. All of us ought to appreciate Drew Brees for what makes him different from us, even if that is his religion. That’s what our commitment to religious liberty and the guarantee to exercise that religion in public demands. By the way, in case you’re wondering, we won Dr. Walsh’s case and, after several exchanges with Giovanni’s school, they admitted their teacher made a mistake.  So, don’t be afraid of living out your faith in public either.  We’re here to help. To learn how First Liberty is protecting religious liberty for all Americans, visit FirstLiberty.org.