Football coach banned for prayer goes on offense

Joe Kennedy, Bremerton High School football coach in Washington, is standing strong on his right to pray.

The Washington school district that suspended a football coach for silently praying after games now has an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint on its hands.

Coach Joe Kennedy was put on paid administrative by Bremerton High School Superintendent Aaron Leavell after an Oct. 16 game. The infraction: Kennedy prayed at the 50-yard line after a referee blew the final whistle.

Liberty Institute filed a federal complaint Tuesday on the Marine veteran's behalf – free of charge – Breitbart News reported.

Like the reporting you see here? Sign up for free news alerts from WND.com, America's independent news network.

TRENDING: Trump declassifies Russia-investigation documents

"[School officials] violated my rights to free exercise of religion and free speech by prohibiting my private religious expression," Kennedy said in a statement released Monday.

The EEOC complaint presents Bremerton School District with a final opportunity to change course before a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is filed.

"All we are asking is for Coach Kennedy to be allowed to pray alone – silently and briefly – at the 50-yard line after the game," Michael Berry, a Liberty Institute lawyer, told the website.

Joe Kennedy, Bremerton High School football coach in Washington, is surrounded by students as he silently prays

Bremerton High School's rules prohibit anyone from demonstrating what could be interpreted as an outward sign of faith. The mandate would even apply to a Jewish coach who wanted to wear a yarmulke, Breitbart reported.

"Initially, in 2008, I prayed silently and alone," Kennedy said in his complaint. "After several games where I prayed alone, some of the players began to engage in their own religious expression near where I pray. I did nothing to encourage or discourage such student religious expression. When some players asked me if they were permitted to pray, I told them that 'this is a free country, you can do what you want.' In time, the number of players who prayed near me grew to include a majority of the team. Sometimes BHS players invited players from the opposing team to join them as they engaged in student religious expression after the game."

WND's acclaimed Whistleblower magazine shows in its powerfully moving April issue, "PERSECUTION RISING," how today's treatment of Christians in many nations is disturbingly reminiscent of the brutal persecution of the early followers of Christ.

School officials contacted Kennedy Sept. 17 via a letter instructing him not to pray if he could not refrain from "outwardly discernible" religious activity. The coach stopped praying after games while he sought legal counsel. He resumed his post-game prayer Oct. 16 and was placed on administrative leave Oct. 23.

"We hope the EEOC takes this charge of religious discrimination seriously," lead counsel Rebekah Ricketts of the international law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said a statement released Tuesday. "We fully expect that Coach Kennedy’s First Amendment rights will be vindicated."

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has partnered with Liberty Institute to give Kennedy free legal representation.