Christian football coach Joe Kennedy got fired from his job in 2015 for praying in public and is still fighting the legal battle up to this day to do what he loves.
Coach Kennedy was a high school football coach at The Bremerton (WA) School District who got fired because of professing his faith. When Kennedy became a coach way back in 2008, he promised to thank God after every game, whether they won or lost. For years, he would kneel in the middle of the field and pray.
Joe Kennedy explained his side of the story in an article from Fox News. He started off by saying he is a football coach but " for more than five seasons" he has been "sidelined" and not because he didn't win enough games but because " the school district that hired me-Bremerton School District, just across the Puget Sound from Seattle-forced me to choose between my faith and my job."
"Before I coached my first game, in 2008, I made a commitment to God that I would give thanks after each game-win or lose-for the opportunity to be a football coach and for my players. I was inspired to do this after watching the movie "Facing the Giants."
"For seven years, after each game, I walked to the center of the field, knelt, and prayed a brief prayer of thanks.
This simple act of gratitude cost me the job I love." Kennedy said.
The School District then prohibited him from publicly praying in the middle of the field because students and fans could see him engaging in religious expression.
He said it started out as a compliment instead of a complaint from a neighboring school administrator but then his school instructed him that he could pray as long as he's not leading other players in prayers.
"I was all too happy to comply with this directive and clarified that I would pray by myself. But then the school district issued a new policy, and it said I could not pray where others might see me." he said until "They offered to allow me to pray only if it was in a place where nobody could see me. It made me feel as if my faith was something I should hide out of shame." he added.
That did not sit right with Coach Kennedy, being a retired U.S. Marine who dedicated his life for American citizens' religious freedom.
"I would have given my life defending the religious freedom of any American, and yet that very right was denied to me. That just seemed wrong and unjust." Kennedy said.
Coach Kennedy is still fighting for his constitutional rights up to this day and even explained in his article the process he's going through.
First Liberty Institute helped him by taking his case and sending a letter to the school district immediately after, reminding them of his constitutional rights. But instead of taking heed, the district changed its rules. Later on, Kennedy and First Liberty filed a lawsuit.
"With First Liberty's help, I filed a lawsuit against Bremerton School District. We knew it would not be easy. My case started in the district court, then went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although the Supreme Court decided not to hear my case at the time, in a relatively rare move, four of the Court's justices-Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh-issued a statement explaining that my case was not ready to be heard because important factual questions remained unresolved. They then set out a game plan for how the case should be reviewed." he expressed in line with the lawsuit.
Kennedy said it's never been an easy journey and 5 years is a long time but "quitting would violate everything I tried to teach my players" and he also remembered his commitment to God, so he will continue to fight on.
Franklin Graham also thanked Coach Kennedy in a Facebook post for still fighting his legal right and defending the First Amendment Rights of coaches and teachers across the country.
