Menu
ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Articles
ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®

Supreme Court hears argument in football coach post-game prayer case

Posted on April 30, 2022April 30, 2022 by ReligiousLiberty.TV

On April 25, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments involving a part-time high school football coach who lost his contract because he would pray at the 50-yard line after games. Inspired by the 2006 movie, Facing the Giants, Joseph Kennedy would “face the scoreboard, take a knee, thank God, and walk off.” Then some players started to join him. The school district told him to stop and when he kept doing it, they terminated his contract.

Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. first went to the Supreme Court in 2018, but the Court returned the matter to the 9th Circuit to resolve whether the case was about Kennedy’s free speech rights or the school district’s claim that allowing the prayers would infringe on the Establishment Clause. The case bounced around for a couple more years. The 9th Circuit decided that it looked like Kennedy was acting as an employee during a time when the First Amendment did not protect his speech and that a reasonable person might think the school was endorsing religion in violation of the Establishment Clause.

So this now becomes an issue of what freedom of speech teachers have at school. Since it was on school time, it would be government speech. But this speech was after a game when coaches could speak freely to family and friends, and the district was just upset that he wanted to talk to God instead. Of course, hugging one’s spouse after a game would probably not be questioned but lifting one’s hands to God invites a higher level of scrutiny.

And then there’s the fact that he left Washington state and moved to Florida two years ago, so the district says it’s a “moot” issue since part of what he’s asking for is reinstatement, and he’s not likely to move back to Washington. But Kennedy says that he’ll go right back to his job at Bremerton High School if he wins. The Court should throw out the mootness argument. People who are discriminated against need to find alternate work, even if it requires them to move. That Kennedy was able to “mitigate damages” by obtaining employment should not invalidate his claim. Plaintiffs in wrongful termination cases are usually required to seek other jobs –they cannot sit back accruing lost wages and interest. In contrast, their cases go through the system and then expect a massive payout from the defendant employer when it’s over. This means they need to diligently seek comparable work in the same field and document these efforts.

It isn’t uncommon for people in sports to have little rituals, like baptizing each other with coolers of ice or doing something else in the OCD vein to appease the spirits of the football field, and we’re not going to judge Kennedy’s sports ritual. It seems like he was doing it on his own and that he wasn’t coercing other students to do it. It was also apparently swift. It wasn’t a regular church ritual, like participating in the Eucharist on the 50-yard line. we can expect a very narrowly worded ruling when it comes out this summer that preserves the free speech rights of teachers but does not give carte blanche authority for teachers to hold church services on the field.

Most likely, the Supreme Court will find that the coach’s interest in free speech and free exercise of religion outweighs the joinder of church and state that the Establishment Clause was enacted to prevent.

Tweets by RelLibertyTV

Recent Posts

  • Learn About US Government and Liberty of Conscience in the Nation's Capitol: New Course for Adventist High School Students Gives College Credit

    Learn About US Government and Liberty of Conscience in the Nation's Capitol: New Course for Adventist High School Students Gives College Credit

    March 28, 2023
  • Founders’ First Freedom files Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court in Support of Workplace Religious Freedom

    Founders’ First Freedom files Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court in Support of Workplace Religious Freedom

    March 26, 2023
  • U.S. District Court Dismisses Hunter v. US Dept of Education Lawsuit

    U.S. District Court Dismisses Hunter v. US Dept of Education Lawsuit

    February 5, 2023
  • Colorado Court: Baker Must Provide "Non-Expressive" Cake to Transgender Customer

    Colorado Court: Baker Must Provide "Non-Expressive" Cake to Transgender Customer

    January 30, 2023
  • Supreme Court to Hear Christian Postal Employee Religious Discrimination Claim - Groff v. DeJoy

    Supreme Court to Hear Christian Postal Employee Religious Discrimination Claim - Groff v. DeJoy

    January 13, 2023

We are not a law firm, do not provide any legal services, legal advice or “lawyer referral services” and do not provide or participate in any legal representation.

©2023 ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experience, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}