minute read
ADVERTISEMENT
The Washington state high school football coach who was fired for leading students in prayers on the field after games has reportedly been awarded a $1.7 million settlement and will regain his job next season.
The Bremerton school board unanimously accepted the settlement following a US Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 that coach Joseph Kennedy's prayer groups were protected under the First Amendment.
Kennedy's attorney stated that the coach will return to Bremerton to resume his football duties as an assistant coach for Bremerton High School in the 2023 season. The school district will pay his attorneys in interest-free installments over three fiscal years.
Kennedy had coached at Bremerton High School since 2008 and began praying alone at the 50-yard line after games. He eventually gained student and player participation and began giving talks with religious references, the Seattle Times reports.
The public school district asked him to stop and eventually suspended him in 2015, and his contract was not renewed. He subsequently sued the district, and his attorneys at the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit conservative Christian legal organization, took the case to the Supreme Court.
Kennedy argued that the prayers were private acts of faith, while the school district claimed that student involvement broke the Constitution's prohibition on government officials promoting religion.
The Supreme Court's conservative justices sided with Kennedy last year, overturning several lower court decisions that had favored the district. The school board approved the settlement on March 16.
The Bremerton school board unanimously accepted the settlement following a US Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 that coach Joseph Kennedy's prayer groups were protected under the First Amendment.
Kennedy's attorney stated that the coach will return to Bremerton to resume his football duties as an assistant coach for Bremerton High School in the 2023 season. The school district will pay his attorneys in interest-free installments over three fiscal years.
Kennedy had coached at Bremerton High School since 2008 and began praying alone at the 50-yard line after games. He eventually gained student and player participation and began giving talks with religious references, the Seattle Times reports.
The public school district asked him to stop and eventually suspended him in 2015, and his contract was not renewed. He subsequently sued the district, and his attorneys at the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit conservative Christian legal organization, took the case to the Supreme Court.
Kennedy argued that the prayers were private acts of faith, while the school district claimed that student involvement broke the Constitution's prohibition on government officials promoting religion.
The Supreme Court's conservative justices sided with Kennedy last year, overturning several lower court decisions that had favored the district. The school board approved the settlement on March 16.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in to comment
Powered by StructureCMS™ Comments
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
Comments