Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Coach Joe Kennedy’s right to pray on the field.

In a 6-3 decision, the Court upheld the right of the former high school football coach to take a knee in quiet prayer after football games—even if he can be seen by students and the fans.

Nearly eight years ago, the Bremerton School District in Washington fired him for silently praying on the field.

With this win, Coach can finally return to the place he belongs—on the football field and quietly praying by himself after the game.

This ruling sets a key precedent for religious freedom in America. It affirms the constitutional rights of all public-school teachers and coaches to engage in a brief, personal prayer in public. The Court made it clear:

“Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic. Here, a government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a personal religious observance, based on a mistaken view that it has a duty to suppress religious observances even as it allows comparable secular speech. The Constitution neither mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination.”

Watch Coach Kennedy’s reaction after finding out he just won his case:

In response to the ruling, Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO and Chief Counsel for First Liberty Institute said:

“This is a tremendous victory for Coach Kennedy. The Court’s decision is exactly what we asked for—allow Coach to pray by himself just like he did for years after he started coaching. We are grateful that the Supreme Court refused to ban him from praying just because he can be seen by the public.”

As a faithful First Liberty supporter, we want to THANK YOU for joining Team Kennedy and helping us achieve this important milestone.

Just as in football, legal victories of great significance are rarely won by one player or in a single play. It takes patience, hard work, a great game plan and a team coming together to make that victory a reality.

Your ongoing prayers and financial support are the reason why our legal team can keep fighting—and winning—for courageous Americans like Coach Kennedy. We could not have won this case for Coach Kennedy and millions of Americans without you.

This is a major victory for religious freedom, but our work is not done. First Liberty is currently preparing 3 more cases for the Supreme Court.

Will you help us build on the momentum of this landmark victory? Your support can help us secure more precedent setting wins at the Supreme Court. Please make your best gift today to keep us on the frontlines of this fight.

When we fight together...We win together.

Note: We apologize for the delay in getting you the latest news on Coach Kennedy’s victory at the Supreme Court. We experienced an interruption in service from a third-party vendor which delayed our ability to announce this major news. Thank you for your prayers and support over the years as we celebrate this great win together!