Tag: Joseph Kennedy

Joseph Kennedy, the coach at the center of a praying controversy, resigns

Joseph Kennedy is leaving his role as an assistant coach just days after his controversial return to the sidelines.

Joseph Kennedy, who won a Supreme Court battle for the right to return to the sidelines as a football coach, resigned from his position on Wednesday. The surprising move comes just days after he assumed a coaching role in the district where he had previously been fired.

In recent years, Kennedy has been at the center of national attention after claiming that he was terminated from his role as a football coach at Bremerton High School (Wash.) for his refusal to stop praying at midfield following games.

After a Supreme Court ruling last summer that paved the way for his return to coach, Kennedy was once again on the sidelines this past weekend as an assistant coach at Bremerton. And, following the game, Kennedy knelt in prayer by himself in the middle of the field.

In a statement obtained by the USA TODAY Network, Kennedy explained why he is leaving his coaching job just days after his return to the sidelines:

“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 the statement.

“I will continue to work to help people understand and embrace the historic ruling at the heart of the case. As a result of our case, we all have more freedom, not less. That should be celebrated and respected and not disrespected.”

On Friday, Bremerton beat Mount Douglas 27-12 in their season opener.

At issue in the firing was whether Kennedy’s role as a football coach led players at the public school to feel pressured into participating in a religious activity at the public school. Players sometimes joined Kennedy to pray, although he claims in his court case that participation was voluntary and never was forced.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, in writing the opinion of the court last June, stated that Kennedy’s prayers following the game did not warrant termination:

“That Mr. Kennedy offered his prayers when students were engaged in other activities like singing the school fight song further suggests that those prayers were not delivered as an address to the team, but instead in his capacity as a private citizen.”

High school football coach at the center of prayer debate gets reinstated, receives $1.7 million settlement

Kennedy was terminated from his coaching position after he continued post-game prayers with students.

Former Bremerton High School (Wash.) football coach Joseph Kennedy, who was let go after continuing to lead midfield prayers with players and other students following the games, has been reinstated and will reportedly receive a $1.7 million settlement.

According to the Kitsap Sun, the Supreme Court ruled that Kennedy’s prayers were a private matter and did not amount to the school district’s endorsement of Christianity.

The vote from the high court in the June 27, 2022 Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District decision was 6-3, in which all Republican seats voted in favor of Kennedy while all Democratic seats voted against him.

“The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority.

Kennedy’s religious beliefs and free will to enact them became a national focal point after his 2015 dismissal resulted in a lawsuit led by the nonprofit conservative Christian legal organization First Liberty Institute.

The fired coach argued that his actions were private acts of faith.

June 13, 2017: Former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy stands in federal court along with attorney Mike Berry and Denise Kennedy, Joe Kennedy’s wife. (Michaela Roman-USA TODAY NETWORK)

The District disagreed, highlighting that the First Amendment protects free speech and religion but does prohibit the establishment of religion by the government.

Prior courts had also said that public school-sponsored prayer violated the Establishment Clause, even if the prayer was voluntary. However, the currently appointed Supreme Court judges had enough in the majority to believe that Kennedy’s actions violated no such clause—though not without dissent.

“Official-led prayer strikes at the core of our constitutional protections for the religious liberty of students and their parents,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.

Washington’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction made a clear stance as well, taking a hard line on a very subjective matter:

“It remains illegal and unethical for public school employees to coerce, pressure, persuade, or force students, players, staff, or other participants to engage in any religious practice as a condition of playing, employment, belonging, or participation.”

In the end, Kennedy’s case against the Bremerton School Board and its national coverage has reignited longstanding debates about ideologies and protections for faith-based actions in the school.

Monday’s ruling marks a significant victory for those who support the coach’s efforts.

“This is just so awesome,” Kennedy said Monday, in a statement. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be back on the field with my guys.”

Kennedy will return to the school in 2023, where it’s expected he’ll be on the sidelines for the football team and will continue his postgame prayers.

[polldaddy poll=11991566]

(Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the Supreme Court’s decision occurred on Monday, June 27, 2022.)

Supreme Court to hear case of HS football coach who lost his job after postgame prayers with players

The Supreme Court said that it will hear the case of a Washington high school football coach who lost his job after praying with players.

The Supreme Court said late last week that it will hear the case of a Washington high school football coach who lost his job after praying with players and coaches.

Joseph Kennedy, an assistant coach at Bremerton High School, said he was “called” to offer private prayers to players and coaches of both teams in 2015, according to the Washington Post. An opposing coach filed a complaint about Kennedy’s postgame prayers and Kennedy and the school district went on to battle “over accommodations of his religious exercise.”

Kennedy ultimately did not return to the school after 2015, as he worked as an assistant coach on a contract that was evaluated at the end of each year.

Kennedy’s legal battle with the Bremerton school district has raged on since 2015. He has lost twice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, with the case splitting the judges. Kennedy’s case reached the Supreme Court in 2019, but justices declined to take it on, saying the lower courts had more to decide. However, four justices indicated that they were interested in the issue and could hear the case at a later date.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. questioned the Ninth Circuit’s decision, saying that its language could “be understood to mean that a coach’s duty to serve as a good role model requires the coach to refrain from any manifestation of religious faith — even when the coach is plainly not on duty. I hope that this is not the message that the Ninth Circuit meant to convey.” Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh backed Alito Jr.

Kennedy will be represented by religious legal group First Liberty Institute, and Bremerton by Americans United for Separation of Church and State when the case is heard before the Supreme Court.

“No teacher or coach should lose their job for simply expressing their faith while in public,” said Kelly Shackelford, president and chief executive of First Liberty. “By taking this important case, the Supreme Court can protect the right of every American to engage in private religious expression, including praying in public, without fear of punishment.”

Americans United, however, say Kennedy and his legal team have misrepresented facts about the case.

“This case is not about a school employee praying silently during a private religious devotion,” Laser said in a statement. “Rather, this case is about protecting impressionable students who felt pressured by their coach to participate repeatedly in public prayer, and a public school district that did right by its students and families.”

[lawrence-related id=101492218]