Rutherford Institute Offers help for Church Super Bowl Parties

Rutherford Institute Offers to Assist NFL in Creating Exemption for Churches Wanting to Hold Big-Screen Super Bowl Viewing Parties in 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In a recent letter to the National Football League, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, has offered to assist the NFL in proposing legislation that would allow churches and other non-profit entities to display the Super Bowl at gatherings, regardless of the size of the viewing screen, so long as no fees or charges are made in connection with the gathering. Institute attorneys had contacted the NFL prior to the Feb. 4, 2007 Super Bowl on behalf of an Indiana church that had been warned against hosting a "Super Bowl Bash" to which church members and guests were invited to watch the championship game on a wall projector at the church. However, because the NFL refused to publicly recant its position prior to the Bowl game, many churches were forced to either cancel their events, have their members and guests gather around a single, small television to watch the game, which precluded any kind of large gathering, or disregard the NFL's dictates altogether. A copy of the Institute's letter is available here.

"If the NFL is concerned about maintaining public good will and increasing viewership of the Super Bowl game, it needs to take the high road in this matter. Otherwise, they will only succeed in alienating a large portion of the American people who happen to be churchgoers," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Churches have a constitutional right to assemble their congregants, and it shouldn't matter whether these people are gathering to protest the war, pray for the nation or watch a football game."

The dispute arose after NFL attorneys warned officials at Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis against hosting a "Super Bowl Bash" to which church members and guests were invited to watch the championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears on a wall projector at the church. Some of the things to which NFL attorneys reportedly objected were the church's plan to charge partygoers a fee to attend; the church's use of the words "Super Bowl" in its promotions; the church's plan to use a projector to show the game on a 12-foot-wide screen; and the church's plan to show a video in conjunction with the game highlighting the Christian testimonies of Colts coach Tony Dungy and Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith.

Despite the church's willingness to drop the use of the words "Super Bowl" and not charge attendees a small fee to cover the cost of snacks, the NFL remained adamant in its insistence that the event be cancelled. After being contacted by The Rutherford Institute, NFL officials conceded that churches could show the Super Bowl at the event so long as 'there [is] no charge for the event' and the church does not use NFL trademarks to promote the event. Thus, as Whitehead points out in his letter, "The only matter up for debate is the size of the viewing screen—which can be considered a superficial concern, at best." The NFL makes an exception to its mass-viewing policy with large-screen TVs for sports bars that show televised sports on a regular basis.

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The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights. Information about the Institute and its ongoing efforts to defend religious freedom is available at http://m1e.net/c?49385008-HEiDS7v/OdACU%402251696-.Cr2RPiauQA6k.

(c) 2007 The Rutherford Institute