Joe Kennedy, a former football coach at a Bremerton, Washington High School has been off the field since 2015 when he was terminated for saying a prayer at midfield after games.
But that was until the United States Supreme Court intervened, and now Kennedy must be reinstated to his old job by no later than March 15, 2023.
According to Fox News, Kennedy brought his case before the Supreme Court and was heard in April, the case was decided in June, and per court papers filed on Tuesday, the decision is to be implemented.
In the majority ruling of the Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, “Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic—whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head.”
“Here, 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 Clauses of the First Amendment. And the only meaningful justification the government offered for its reprisal rested on a mistaken view that it had a duty to ferret out and suppress religious observances even as it allows comparable secular speech.” Gorsuch continued.
“The Constitution neither mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination. Mr. Kennedy is entitled to summary judgment on his First Amendment claims.”
The court documents show that Kennedy must be reinstated as Assistant Coach and The Bremerton School District is forbidden from retaliating against “conduct that complies with the terms of the Court’s Order,” such as his prayers the court documents say.
Kennedy is reportedly entitled to his attorney fees and court costs and the school district can no longer interfere with or prohibit him from his prayers consistent with the ruling. Mr. Kennedy’s fees are pending a U.S. District Court “exacting process.”
“At this point, the School District has not received any documentation for any amount of attorney fees,” the district said Tuesday in a statement. “The extent of insurance coverage for a potential attorney fees judgment is the subject of continuing discussions between the School District and its insurers.”
