WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – A disagreement involving public school administrators and a previous high school sports coach who sought to kneel down and pray upon the football field after matches will be heard by the Supreme Court.
Joseph Kennedy, ex football coach at Bremerton High School in Bremerton, Washington, is the subject of the case before the Supreme Court on Monday. Over the years, after games, the football coach would kneel down in the middle of the ground and gather the players in prayer. According to ABC NEWS, the school system soon discovered everything he had been doing and ordered him to stop.
Kennedy’s attorneys claim that the Constitution’s rights of freedom of religion and speech enable him to kneel and pray on the football field, with others welcome to join him. However, the school district claims that Kennedy’s religious speech infringed on students’ religious freedom rights, put pressure on kids to pray, and exposed the system to legal action. The school system claims it tried to come up with a remedy so Kennedy, a devout Christian, could pray discreetly before and after the match, even on the ground after the children had departed, but Kennedy filed a complaint.
The issue comes before the court at a point where conservative justices constitute the bulk of the courtroom and have shown sympathy for religious groups and people, such as those who challenged coronavirus regulations in places of worship.
Cases related to religion, on the other hand, might bring the court together. Last year, the court ruled in favour of a Catholic foster care organisation that claimed its religious beliefs prevented it from dealing with same-sex couples. The court had already decided in favour of a Texas death penalty inmate who requested that his pastor pray openly and touch him as his sentence was being executed in an 8-1 ruling this term.
Meanwhile, the Bremerton case has already piqued the justices’ interest. The justices refused to intervene in the dispute at an earlier point in 2019. However, four justices criticized prior court decisions in favor of the school system, noting the appeals court’s view of public school teachers’ free expression rights is disturbing.
Kennedy began coaching at Bremerton High School from 2008, and it was his custom to halt and kneel down to pray at the end of a match, just after coaches and athletes from both the teams had met in the middle to shake hands. Kennedy expressed gratitude for his players’ accomplishments as well as their wellbeing, among other points.
Kennedy began praying alone at the 50-yard line after the conclusion of matches, but students soon joined him, and he eventually began to offer a short, inspiring speech that included religious overtones. Kennedy claims he never forced players to participate or urged students to pray. He often led the players in prayer before matches in the locker room, a tradition that predates him.
Kennedy’s practice was not discovered by the school system until 2015. It advised him at the time that he should refrain from praying with pupils or engaging in openly religious behavior while on job as a coach. Kennedy was put on paid leave when he continued to pray on the field. According to the school, his contract ended and he did not reapply to coach the next year.
Before the court’s summer vacation, a ruling is likely.
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, case number 21-418, is the name of the case.