WASHINGTON (WBAP/KLIF News ) – The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor a high school assistant football coach from Bremerton, Washington who lost his job for kneeling and praying on the field after games.
Kennedy was fired in 2015 after refusing to stop his on-field prayers. His case was argued before the High Court on April 25, 2022.
The Justices said Joe Kennedy’s actions are protected by the first amendment stating that a “brief, quiet moment of prayer should be protected.”
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority stating “The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.”
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she believed Kennedy does have the right to pray but he does not have the right to pressure students to join him in prayer.
Some observers said the prayers had been happening more frequently and Kennedy had been asking students to join him in prayer.
Kennedy and his attorneys at the Christian legal group First Liberty Institute applauded the ruling. He appeared on Fox’s “America Reports” to share his reaction to the Monday ruling.
“I just can’t stop smiling and, you know, thank God and everyone that supported me. I found out that I am not insane its absolutely true of all of the facts in the case. It just feels good to know that the first amendment is alive and well,” said Kennedy.
Copyright 2021. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
