The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed an internal grievance at New World State University (NWSU; a public university in Colorado) alleging that the NWSU football coach engaged in religious discrimination against a Muslim student-athlete. The grievance claims that Coach Al West violated the First Amendment by repeatedly questioning his running back Mohammed Ahman about Islam and its ties to al-Qaeda and by requiring the team to recite the Lord’s Prayer after each practice.
Additionally, some evidence suggests that religious discrimination played a role in Ahman’s release from the team after six games. Ahman had begun the season at the top of the depth chart. He started the first game and rushed for 21 yards in seven carries. He did not start the next game, however, and was not even included on the roster for the next four games prior to his release. The coach claims that Ahman’s release was performance-related because his replacement was one of the leading rushers in the SMAC Conference. Ahman claims he learned of his release via a message left on his cell phone by an assistant coach.
He also claims that his requests to meet with the coaching staff to discuss it have been denied. Two other Muslim players were also released from the team under similar circumstances.
In response to the grievance, NWSU hired a law firm to investigate the allegations, and it reported finding no evidence of religious discrimination. The ACLU has questioned the impartiality of the investigation. Ahman’s father has stated that the family intends to pursue the complaint in federal court. Meanwhile, Ahman has petitioned the NCAA for a hardship waiver to allow him to transfer to Coastal California State University without having to lose a year of eligibility.

Question

1. Could Ahman bring a claim for religious discrimination under Title II of the Civil Rights Act? If so, what would the analysis look like? If not, why not?

2. Could Ahman bring a religious discrimination claim under the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause? Refer to Chapter 7 for detailed information on the religion clauses in the First Amendment to help you describe what Ahman’s freedom of religion argument would be under the First Amendment.

3. Could Ahman bring an Equal Protection Clause claim? If so, on what grounds?
What level of review would a court give such a claim?

4. Could Ahman bring a Title VI claim for race discrimination? If so, what would his arguments be? If not, why not?

5. Could Ahman bring a Due Process Clause claim? If so, on what grounds?