In 2008, Joseph Kennedy, a retired Marine and devout Christian, began working as a football coach for Bremerton High School in Washington. After each game, Kennedy took a knee at the 50-yard line and offered up a brief, silent prayer for his players’ safety, what the players accomplished, and the opportunity to be a part of their lives. When some players asked to join Kennedy in taking a knee after the games, he replied, “This is a free country.” The practice continued for years without raising any red flags. However, in September 2015, the superintendent sent Kennedy a letter informing him that any prayer must be physically separate from any student activity and that students could not join him. Kennedy persisted in taking a knee in silent prayer after football games and did not prohibit students from joining him if they wished to do so. As the conflict became public, in at least one instance, coaches and players from the opposing team, as well as members of the community, knelt alongside Kennedy on the field.
The school district placed Kennedy on administrative leave, with the head coach recommending that he not be rehired due to failing to follow district policy by visibly praying on the field. Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently upheld the school district’s actions, ruling that they were justified in prohibiting Kennedy from silently praying after games on the field in view of others due to the risk that someone might think the school was endorsing a religion. Weighing in with an amicus brief in Kennedy, The Rutherford Institute has called on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect individuals’ rights to freedom of speech and religion.
The amicus brief in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District is available at www.rutherford.org. Affiliate attorney Christopher F. Moriarty assisted in advancing the First Amendment arguments in the brief.
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.
Source: https://bit.ly/3IKiaA4
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