First Liberty
[link removed]



I wanted to send you this open letter from Coach Joe Kennedy that was
published in Fox News on Friday.

You already know that this summer, Coach Kennedy won at the Supreme
Court after Bremerton School District fired him for praying
on the field after football games.

But now that Coach Kennedy is looking to take the field once again,
the school district is putting up roadblocks to rehiring him. Every
time I sit down and talk with Coach, his only request is to get back
to the coaching job that he loves.

He wanted me to pass this letter along to you. Read from Coach Kennedy
himself about wanting to get back to his beloved football team.

Fighting Together, 

Kelly

Kelly Shackelford
President, CEO & Chief Counsel
First Liberty Institute


I won my religious freedom suit, now I want to get back to coaching
and winning on the field

By Coach Joe Kennedy

Just a few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Bremerton
School District violated my constitutional rights, some wonder why
I'm not back on the field yet. I am still committed getting back
on the field as soon as the district court finalizes my reinstatement.
However, the district seems intent on stonewalling.

My lawyers have been trying to wrap up all the legal stuff with the
school district. I've specifically asked them to do whatever
they can to bring my case to a successful conclusion that will help
our community heal. I know this has been hard on my friends and family
in Bremerton. My hope has been to return to the sidelines with as
little fanfare and negative impact on our team as possible. New
coaches usually transition to a team in the spring. That seemed more
sensible than trying to parachute in just as the season is beginning.
It would give time for all of us to reacquaint ourselves and develop
relationships with the kids I would be coaching.

In order to make that happen, either we can work it out across the
table, or a judge can order the district to take me back by then. I
would prefer the former, but the district seems determined to avoid
meeting with me.

On July 11, 2022, my attorneys wrote Michael Tierney - the
school's local attorney - asking for a face-to-face
meeting to resolve all remaining issues in the case. Almost a full
month later - after a new superintendent started in Bremerton
- Mr. Tierney finally responded on August 4, 2022, by saying,
"As for a face-to-face meeting, we do not see that it would be
useful."

My lawyers renewed our request for a face-to-face meeting on August 8,
2022. Mr. Tierney responded the same day with, "I disagree that
this is an effort that is best accomplished in a face-to-face
meeting."

So, we asked the judge to weigh in. On August 26, 2022, Judge Robert
Lasnik directed all of us to engage in "settlement
discussions" to figure out when I should be reinstated and
whether the district's insurance could cover at least a portion
of the substantial amount of attorney's fees the school must pay
for denying me my constitutional rights. Those discussions, Lasnik
wrote, "must involve at least one face-to-face meeting or
telephone conference." I am - and have been - ready
to meet with the district whenever they are. Instead, the district sat
down with a columnist at The Seattle Times.

In addition to refusing to meet with me face-to-face since they
suspended me in 2015, the district quietly adopted a new policy
- one that seems to be at odds with the U.S. Supreme
Court's opinion and common sense.

For instance, the new policy requires a buffer zone of 25 feet for any
teacher or coach engaged in "personal conduct" on school
property. I'm not sure what that means for the teacher checking
a text message while walking through the hallway to lunch, but for me,
it would give a "heckler's veto" - something
Justice Neil Gorsuch warned against - to any student who
disagrees with my prayer by just stepping past the 41-yard line when I
take a knee at the 50. And if it means that a teacher cannot cross
herself within 25 feet of a student in the lunchroom, I think the
district is asking for another lawsuit.

But all I want is to bring my lawsuit to a close and get back on the
sidelines doing what I love. And the last thing I want to do is to
hurt the players or the team. That's why I thought it would be
best for me to target a spring return. Football season begins in the
spring and summer with conditioning, learning the playbook, and
bonding as a team. Coming in mid-stride is not fair to kids who only
get one shot at high school football. I can wait.

But the district seems to want to keep fighting and would rather talk
to reporters than my lawyers. Perhaps their goal is to make it as
difficult as possible for me to return to coaching, so I will just
give up. That's not going to happen. I want to resolve this as
soon as possible, but the district - after two months of
refusing to meet face-to-face and having to be ordered by the judge to
meet with us - still has not identified anyone in the district
who is authorized to resolve the remaining issues and get me back on
the sideline.

Like most teachers and coaches, I love coaching and getting the best
out of my guys on the field. It's the administrative red tape
that is so often discouraging. I still believe we can work things out
if we could just sit down and talk. That didn't work seven years
ago. I hope it will now.

Originally published on September 23, 2022 in Fox News.

[link removed]

GIVE
[link removed]

Join Us on Facebook
[link removed]

Join Us on Instagram
[link removed]

Follow Us on Twitter
[link removed]

Watch Us on YouTube
[link removed]

Join Us on LinkedIn
[link removed]

Follow Us on SoundCloud
[link removed]

Sent by First Liberty Institute
[email protected]

2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 1600 * Plano, TX 75075 *
972-941-4444

View Online
[link removed]

Donate
[link removed]

Email Preference
[link removed]

Privacy Policy
[link removed]

Powered By Blackbaud

[link removed]

© 2022
First Liberty Institute