GATE CITY ? A prayer delivered prior to a high school football game last week resulted in Gate City High School receiving a letter Tuesday from the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In the letter, the ACLU informed the school that it believed a prayer said during a student-led memorial service prior to Gate City?s Sept. 11 home game against Sullivan South High School was unconstitutional.

It also asked for the practice to cease immediately.

?We heard from someone who attends these football games ... that the game last Friday was opened with a prayer and that they had seen this happen last season as well,? said Rebecca K. Glenberg, legal director for the Virginia ACLU. ?The Supreme Court has made it quite clear that public high school football games cannot be opened with an official prayer.?

That holds true even if the opening prayer is done by students, she said.

The prayer was delivered by a student member of the school?s Fellowship of Christian Athletes during a ceremony that included a moment of silence for a Sullivan South football player who died earlier this season and a remembrance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Both high school and school system officials acknowledged that the prayer occurred but disputed the claim that they took place before every football game.

?It was (the ACLU?s) understanding that a similar prayer was delivered at many of the home games last year,? Scott County School Superintendent Jim Scott said. ?Of course, (Gate City Principal Greg) Ervin said not, and he?s been in contact with them. Naturally, though, we?ll abide by the law.?

The prayer Friday night was completely student-led, Scott said, and was not sanctioned by the school.

The point of the service, officials said, was to simply pay respect to victims of the terrorist attacks and to the loss Sullivan South experienced.

?We were just trying to reach out and honor (Sullivan South),? Ervin said. ?This was a special case ? we wanted to honor our neighboring community and the memory of 9/11, and I was proud of my students for doing so.?

Glenberg said the ACLU was satisfied with the response it received from Gate City?s principal and the steps the school plans to take in the future.

?He did indeed call and said we did not have prayers at games last year, and it is not their policy and the students had acted alone,? Glenberg said.

There are no plans to file a lawsuit on the matter, she said.

?We try to contact the officials and try to determine exactly what the facts are and if there?s some other way to resolve it,? Glenberg said. ?Obviously, in this case, it was very simply resolved.?

The ACLU and the person who filed the complaint did not object in any way to the memorial services themselves, she said, just the prayer.

The letter cited the U.S. Supreme Court?s 2000 ruling in Sante Fe Independent School District v. Doe.

In that case, the court found that prayers at public high school football games were, in certain instances, unconstitutional and could amount to a ?school-sponsored religious message.?

But according to the U.S. Department of Education?s Web site on constitutionally protected prayer in public schools, prayer is not attributable to a school and cannot be restricted when a student has ?primary control over the content of their expression.?

?Of course individuals are free to pray before, during and after a game,? Glenberg said. ?But when it becomes part of the official opening of the game and carries those (signs) of school sponsorship, that?s when it becomes impermissible.?

Scott said the school system might seek an opinion from Virginia?s attorney general in order to get a clear interpretation on what exactly can and can?t be done in regard to prayer and school events.