On Monday, 25th April 2022, former Washington high school assistant football coach, Coach Kennedy will take his case to the United States Supreme Court, saying the school system violated his First Amendment rights by firing him after he prayed at the 50-yard line while surrounded by children.
Following an event in September 2015 in which children joined him in prayer, Joseph Kennedy, a Marine, claimed the Bremerton School District infringed on his religious freedom by refusing to let him continue praying in the midfield after games.
Kennedy was permitted to pray alone, according to district lawyers, but after three additional incidents of the coach praying with children on the field and in locker rooms, he was placed on administrative leave and his contract was terminated in 2016.
Following the announcement of Kennedy’s prayers, the district got a flurry of complaints and threats, according to the district.
‘District administrators received threats and hate mail,’ according to the district’s brief to the Supreme Court, which first refused to consider the case in 2019. Strangers confronted the head coach and yelled obscenities at him, making him worry about his life.’
Kennedy claims that prayer at the 50-yard line has been a personal practice for him since 2008 and that he has never invited any pupils to join him.
After a few games, other players inquired about his whereabouts, and he replied that he was ‘thanking God for you guys,’ before a few Christian players asked if they might join.
