Joe Kennedy, Coach Who Fought for Right to Pray on Field, Resigns
By Movieguide® Contributor
Joe Kennedy, the high school football coach who went to the Supreme Court over the right to pray on the field, resigned, alleging “retaliation” against him after being reinstated.
“We have come to learn of serious allegations of retaliation against coach [Joseph] Kennedy by the Bremerton School District,” Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel at First Liberty Institute, said in a statement. “They’ve done everything they can to make him feel unwelcome.”
Sassed added that First Liberty Institute is “going to investigate the situation to determine whether further legal action is necessary.”
Kennedy’s first and only game back with the team occurred on September 1, as Movieguide® previously reported.
“I believe I can best continue to advocate for constitutional freedom and religious liberty by working from outside the school system so that is what I will do,” Kennedy said in a statement on his website. “I will continue to work to help people understand and embrace the historic ruling at the heart of our case. As a result of our case, we all have more freedom, not less. That should be celebrated and not disrespected.”
The statement continued, “As I have demonstrated, we must make a stand for what we believe in. In my case, I made a stand to take a knee. I encourage all Americans to make their own stand for freedom and our right to express our faith as we see fit. I appreciate the people of Bremerton, the coaches, staff and especially the students and wish them all well. Bremerton will always be home.”
A statement from the Bremerton School District reads, “The District received Mr. Kennedy’s resignation on Wednesday, September 6 and it was approved by the board at their regularly scheduled meeting on September 7. The District does not comment on personnel matters, so we will not be issuing any further statements.”
Movieguide® previously reported Kennedy’s Supreme Court victory:
Praying coach, Joe Kennedy, has been reinstated at his high school football job after winning his Supreme Court Case last June.
The assistant football coach was removed from his position in 2015 after silently praying at midfield following the conclusion of his games. Although Kennedy never asked or required students to join him, the school fired him over fears that allowing him to openly pray around students would have been seen as a government endorsement of religion.
After six years of legal battles, the case found itself in the Supreme Court, to decide if the had violated Kennedy’s right to free speech when it barred him from silently praying on the field after games, a practice inspired by FACING THE GIANTS.
The court ruled in Kennedy’s favor 6-3, stating Kennedy would be restored to “his previous position as assistant coach of the Bremerton High School football team on or before March 15, 2023.”
