Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit heard arguments in the case of coach Joe Kennedy, the Washington state coach who was fired after the 2015 season because he took a knee in brief, personal prayers after football games.
The fired coach is returning to the 9th Circuit, says First Liberty Institute attorney Mike Berry, because he received a “terrible ruling” that First Liberty appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“And the U.S. Supreme Court, although they did not take the case at the time,” Barry explains, “they said that there were some questions that needed to be answered by the lower court before they would be ready to consider the case.”
As a result, First Liberty went back to federal district court and has now arrived back at the 9th Circuit.
“So,” Berry concludes, “we got a do-over.”
While the legal fight involves coach Kennedy’s dismissal in 2015, the situation goes back more than 10 years, when Kennedy committed to praying after ball games to thank God for the opportunity to coach.
“The school district didn’t have a problem with that but, over the years,” the attorney says, “some of his players began joining him at mid-field, and around 2015 the school district told Coach Kennedy, You can’t pray with the students or you can’t lead the students in prayer. You have to be away from them.”
According to Berry, coach Kennedy agreed with that policy but First Liberty says school district officials changed the policy to forbid any religious expression on the football field. That violates the First Amendment, First Liberty is arguing on behalf of Kennedy.
The coach, faced with threats of punishment, chose his commitment to prayer over the threats.
Coach Kennedy’s case gained national attention and he has personally heard supportive messages from prominent sports figures including coach Bobby Bowden, NFL Hall of Famer Steve Largent, and Super Bowl winner Chad Hennings.
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Copyright American Family News. Reprinted with permission.
I wish him well..
Being sent to the GULAG for having “wrong thoughts”…
Anything, not in accordance with the party’s rule (leftists) is wrong thing, and needs to be silenced.. SO SAYS THE PARTY.. All hail the party.. Now say ten HAIL bidens!
Speaking or thinking is not the issue. When someone is acting in an official capacity, they are required to represent their official position.
Not required to represent the school’s anti-religious policy when it is unconstitutional.
He is officially a United States citizen and the official position is that he has the right to kneel after a game. The students have a constitutional right to kneel with him.
They have a constitutional right to pray together after the game as well.
And ive often seen, ANTI Christians, use the “BUT they would feel ostracized if they didn’t kneel” argument. HOW IS THAT ANY different, than, ostracizing someone FOR observing their faith, by threatening them with being fired etc?
The communist state equals the destruction of Christianity, which destroys the moral fabric of our Country.
Bravery and commitment. The world doesn’t need heroes as much as it needs Christian leaders.
IT needs honest LEADERS< period.. No matter their faith.
But a bunch of liberal Congress members can kneel in the rotunda of the Capitol to support BLM and the riots of the summer. Yeah, that makes sense.
Individual players kneel to express their person feelings.
When a coach or a teacher leads their players or students, it forces them to follow or else be ostracized.
Big difference. This is why there is no restriction on prayer in public schools – but there is a restriction on teachers or coaches forcing students to pray or recite any oath that they may or may not agree with.
There is no national religion. The Constitution provides freedom of religion and freedom from religion. To force students or a team to follow a religious doctrine is exactly the same as forcing them to be “good little Commies”.
COMMENTdon’t you read the article again? He was alone……………………………….
“When a coach or a teacher leads their players or students, it forces them to follow or else be ostracized.”
Evidently he was praying by himself and SOME students voluntarily joined him.
“This is why there is no restriction on prayer in public schools…”
Schools like the one in this very article, which was not in session at the time the non-restriction was enforced??
Certainly SEEMS like a restriction, on his faith, to me..
Hey fascist! Are you for real or just pretending to be an ignoramus? Look who is being ostracized. No one was forced to do anything except him. He was forced to stop praying or lose his job. 2-violations of the Constitution …..freedom of speech and freedom to practice his religion at a State run school.
Didn’t all team members in the NFL and NBA take a knee in prayer on the field? OH, sorry, they were praying to BLM and believed looting and burning down cities were just more peaceful protests.
AND even with most professional sports teams, being 60% + BLACK< they still 'take a knee to fight racial injustice'. HOW MUCH longer must that lie, be used!?
ALL team members didn’t kneel. It was up to each team member’s personal choice.
Also, your equating peaceful protest and looters is just as rediculous as equating protesters on January 6th with those who entered, looted and were chanting “Kill Mike Pence”.
Peaceful protest should always been respected – by all of us, imo.
You’re right. If you read the article again, it says “over the years, some of his players began joining him in prayer”. So yeah, all team members didn’t kneel. It was up to each team members personal choice. But we’re not talking about the same team or the same venue, are we? The high school team wasn’t “protesting” anything, just voluntarily joining their coach in prayer. Only “some” of his players joined him. No one was being “ostracized”. No one was forcing them or espouse a view that they may not agree with. As far as a national religion is concerned, the coach only said he wanted to pray to “God”. No specific “God”, just “God” (more than probably the Christian God but after all, don’t Jews, Christians and Muslims ALL pray to the same God, just by different names? Like in the NBA and NFL examples, no one was forced to pray, it was just inconvenient for the school district. No one was forcing the students (team members, mostly, I would imagine) to obey or follow a particular religious doctrine. Although these days, if the Left gets their way, they may well be forcing students to be “good, little Commies”, or at least to not complain about it if they know what’s good for them…
Basil. Where are you, in regards to all those teams FORCING players “To join in the taking a knee for BLM support”, or else? Or those businesses being forced to join in the BLM agenda, or else??
“ALL team members didn’t kneel. It was up to each team member’s personal choice.”
Same as the school football field. Some did, over time, some didn’t. Please demonstrate where the coercion occurred.
The BLM/Anti-F.A. protests, cheered on by Democrats, where business’ were destroyed, police were injured, fires were set and over 2 billion in damage racked up were not peaceful.
It’s about time they cracked down on this law breaker. Now the government must punish those professional athletes who point to the sky to thank God for their H R or touchdown. Maybe Joe can write another executive order.
Whoever gave this a “one star” vote doesn’t quite understand sarcasm.
Maybe they didn’t see it as being sarcastic..
There is no room for sarcasm in the empty-heart and mind of a liberal demigod.
That’s quite a stretch, isn’t it ?
The bunch of communists that told Kennedy to stop praying, SHOULD be the ones that got fired. But then, the state of washington is a libturd dumbocrap ally, and we all know how dumbocrats feel about prayer, or I should say “non-prayer”
Most open-minded liberal censors are just following the herd. They don’t even take time to think about their position before the dive off the cliff.
The battle to preserve the liberties of Christians will only get worse now that we have a federal government committed to unrighteousness. With socialism gaining ground and the unholy left breathing down our neck there will be nothing for Christians, but distain. I applaud Kennedy for his willingness to stand for his faith and urge every Christian to stand with him in solidarity.
As we are being pushed into a Socialist/Marxist Country by the Democrat Party, you will see less, and less PRAYER, or RELIGIOUS Observances !
Socialist and Communist nations do everything possible to DISCOURAGE Religion. Just ask any person who lived in the former Soviet Union about Religion ! Most had to practice their Religion in private, being careful not to show their neighbors any signs. Their neighbors could report them if they saw anything, in fact, their neighbors were encouraged to report anything they saw or heard ! I will NEVER forget talking to friends of mine that had come from Cuba, and the fact that they had to be SO careful what they even told their friends. If they said something that the Government didn’t like, and the friends reported it, they would DISAPPEAR, never to be seen again !
The ONLY religion, they won’t go after, is Islam. LIKE ALWAYS they are too scared to ever try to go after them.
THE school system and THE MEDIA is doing the pushing. The Democrats are doing the lying and Biden is the executioner. Most, if not all of his EOs need to be delayed or over turned by being challenged in court.s
And who do you think’s gonna CHallenge it to take these EO’s to court?