A coach who was fired by a school district for exercising his constitutionally protected right to a short “personal prayer” after games is back at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The lawyers for Joe Kennedy were blunt in their filing in the case, which already has been at the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Does a football coach speak as a private citizen when the coach says a brief, silent, personal prayer after the school event ends? And does the Establishment Clause prevent a football coach from engaging in that brief, personal religious expression? The answer to the first question is ‘yes,’ but the answer to the second is ‘no.'”
Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel at First Liberty, which is representing the coach, said banning all coaches “from praying just because they can be seen is wrong and contradicts the Constitution.”
“Coach Kennedy has been denied the freedom to coach for nearly five years, but he’s never been a quitter,” he said. “We must protect the right of every American to engage in private religious expression, including praying in public, without fear of getting fired.”
The case has received national attention, and Kennedy has received support from political and religious leaders, including President Trump and Franklin Graham, Hall of Fame football coach Bobby Bowden, and former NFL players Steve Largent and Chad Hennings.
Support Coach Kennedy and his right, together with his young players, to pray on the football field. Liberty Institute just suspended him!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2015
Let’s show our support for Coach Kennedy, a former Marine who didn’t back down on prayer. https://t.co/K8VlViouIN
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) August 25, 2017
In January, Trump invited Kennedy to the Oval Office as he announced new actions to protect religious freedom in America’s public schools.
The Supreme Court sent Kennedy’s case back to the lower courts to address First Amendment issues.
At the time, the justices said “the Ninth Circuit’s understanding of the free speech rights of public school teachers is troubling and may justify review in the future.”
At the district court just weeks ago, federal judge Ronald Leighton ruled a second time against the coach, who had been dismissed by the Bremerton, Washington, district for taking a knee in brief, silent prayer after a school football game.
Leighton granted summary judgment to the school.
In the first brief at the 9th Circuit, Kennedy’s lawyers argue: “Discovery has shown that Coach Kennedy’s ‘fleeting’ (the district’s words, not Coach Kennedy’s) personal prayer was directed to God, not others, and did not pose a risk of coercing student involvement in religion. In concluding otherwise, the district court improperly constrained the ability of public-school employees to exercise their constitutional rights simply because they happen to be in view of students or on school property. In this very case, four justices on the Supreme Court cautioned against such a ‘remarkable’ restriction on the rights of ‘public school teachers and coaches.'”
The issue of religious rights has been a focal point of the Trump administration. Trump already has signed executive orders upholding religious liberty and recognizing the essential contributions of faith-based organizations. He also established the Faith and Opportunity Initiative and has fought in courts for religious liberty.
Further, he reversed the Obama-era policy that prevented the government from providing disaster relief to religious organizations. And he has called on the international community and business leaders to protect religious freedom around the world.
The briefing at the 9th Circuit argued the district “had no compelling interest in preventing Coach Kennedy from praying because his prayers did not violate the Establishment Clause.”
The district has criticized Kennedy for not preventing students from joining him, which they did voluntarily. He eventually started his prayers at times when students were otherwise occupied and could not join him.
The district denied him permission to pray, instructing him, instead, to go to a nearby building or even the press box.
