Tuesday 28 June 2022 02:57 AM 'Incredible to know I did nothing wrong': Football coach fired for praying ... trends now

A high school football coach who has spent seven years battling to be allowed to pray on the sidelines after a game has said he is thrilled at the Supreme Court ruling that his actions were protected - and hopes to return to his old job.

Joseph Kennedy, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 20 years, began coaching at Bremerton High School near Seattle in 2008.

But in 2015, the school received a complaint that some athletes felt coerced to join in, and Kennedy's coaching contract was not renewed the following season. He decided to take the issue to court.

On Monday the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, declaring that his actions were protected under the First Amendment.

Kennedy told DailyMail.com he saw his victory as one for all Americans.

'I don't even know how to put it into words,' he said. 'They should give me a day off to think about it and process it all.

'It is just incredible to know that I did nothing wrong. Everything I did was fine.

'And that the First Amendment is fine and well for everyone.'

He insisted that there had never been any coercion to join him in prayer, but that it had been a personal act of worship.

'I had a commitment with God that I'd give him thanks after every football game, win or lose,' Kennedy said.

'And that's the way I started out.'

'I had some kids that wanted to join, and they asked, and of course it's a free country,' Kennedy said.

'They can do whatever they want.

'And that went on fine for eight years.

'Then someone made a complaint, and they started an investigation.

'And the lawyers got involved from the school district and they wanted to completely remove all religious aspects from the public schools.

'So they fired me, and I've just been fighting ever since to get back.'

The complaint was made in 2015, and a school official then recommended Kennedy not be rehired for the 2016 season. He did not apply, and instead sought redress through the courts.

Kennedy's lawyer, Jeremy Dys, said they were shocked they had to fight all the way to the Supreme Court, as they felt the case was clear-cut.

'It's unfortunate that it had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to figure that out,' he told DailyMail.com.

'We thought, when we took this case on, that we'd be working on it for three weeks. And everything would move on.

'But the school district kept moving the goalposts.'

Kennedy agreed, saying he was surprised when the lower courts kept on rejecting his claim. 

'I really thought if someone just looked at the facts of the case and the way constitution was written, that they would have to rule in my favor,' he said.

'I was optimistic every step of the way, and I was surprised that the lower courts ruled against me - some of them so harshly.

'I was waiting for someone to get beyond whatever their bias was, and just look at the facts of the case. And rule accordingly.'

Kennedy said he was buoyed by the support from fellow Americans, who agreed with him that it was a private show of faith rather than a coercive action.

'I wasn't trying to do anything with anybody else,' he said.

'This was just me thanking God for 15 seconds, after a football game.

'It had nothing to do with anything else.'

He added: 'I think every American should have been totally 100 percent on my side. From just my perspective.

'This is about the First Amendment.

'It has nothing to do with infringing on anybody else's.

'This is somebody exercising the freedom that is in our country.

'And that's how I look at it.'

He said that 'many people can relate to that,' adding: 'People feel the Constitution has been put aside, and they haven't had the freedom.

'And that's why they are so excited about this.'

Kennedy, who has moved to Florida to help his wife care for her mother, said he hopes to return to his old job at Bremerton High School.

'That's all I asked for, from the beginning,' he said.

'The only thing I asked for was to be a coach, and thank God after.

'So I'm waiting for the school district and my lawyers to figure that out.' 

In a 6-3 ruling, the high court sided with Kennedy, who was put on leave when the school said that his prayers violated the separation of church and state. 

The district claimed to have received a slew of complaints and threats following news of Kennedy's prayers for allegedly influencing students to join him.

The Supreme Court, which had first declined to hear Kennedy's case in 2019, ruled on Monday that his prayers were protected under First Amendment rights to free speech.

The decision is the latest in a line of Supreme Court rulings for religious plaintiffs. 

In another recent example, the court ruled that Maine can't exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for private education, a decision that could ease religious organizations' access to taxpayer money. 

The case pitted First Amendment rights to free speech against the separation of church and state.

At issue was whether a public school employee praying alone, but in the public view of students, represented unprotected 'government speech' - and if not then does it violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from making any law 'respecting the establishment of a religion.' 

The Supreme Court ruled 'no' on both ends. 

'The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike,' Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority. 

'A government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a brief, quiet, personal religious observance doubly protected by the Free Exercise and Free Speech

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