Joseph Kennedy lost his job as a football coach on the Bremerton, Washington School District after he knelt at midfield after games to offer a personal prayer. Mr. Kennedy sued in federal court alleging that the district violated his First Amendment Free Speech and Free Exercise rights. After concluding discovery, the parties cross-moved for summary judgment. The District Court found for the school board and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed. Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. (2022). The majority opinion written by Justice Gorsuch for a six-member majority continued the court’s march to alter the traditional balance between the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses in favor of the exercise of one’s sincere religious beliefs.
The majority and the dissent differ widely on the facts here. At the conclusion of each game, Coach Kennedy went to the 50-yard line to bow his head in prayer. The majority describes these prayers as private and quiet. The dissent (authored by Justice Sotomayor) describes the prayers as demonstrative. The petitioner invited others to join his prayers and for years led student athletes in prayer at the same time and location. The dissent included a photo of the post-game prayer. It shows many student-athletes surrounding the coach praying. Coach Kennedy did not lose his job because of a single instance of praying at the 50-yard line. He did this regularly. He had been admonished many times to halt this practice as it violated school guidelines. He refused. Attempts to arrive at a compromise were unsuccessful.
