Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired in 2015 for praying on the field after games, will be reinstated by March 15, 2023.
The news follows Kennedy’s June Supreme Court triumph, which decided 6-3 that the coach was within his constitutional rights when he prayed at midfield after the game.
“Bremerton School District shall not interfere with or prohibit Kennedy from offering a prayer consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion,” the attorneys wrote in the filing, according to court records. Some details remain in discussion, with the filing stating, “The parties disagree on the specific wording of this portion of the injunction.”
According to the filings, “Bremerton School District cannot retaliate against or take any future adverse employment action against Kennedy for conduct that complies with the terms of the Court’s Order.”
Court papers were presented to U.S. District Court on Tuesday by both parties engaged in the case. Judge Robert Lasnik of the District Court for the Western District of Washington said that Kennedy will be returned to his old post.
Prior to the incident involving his post-game prayers, Kennedy was an assistant coach for the Bremerton High School football team.
Seven years after the events, Justice Neil Gorsuch penned the majority finding in the June decision.
“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 wrote. “The Constitution neither mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination.”
Kennedy became an assistant coach in 2008, and he established the practice of kneeling at the 50-yard line after each game in prayer. At times, some pupils voluntarily joined him.
When a school official addressed the prayers in 2015, it became an issue, and Kennedy was placed on administrative leave.
Kennedy was defeated in both district court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court denied the lawsuit in 2019, remanding it to the District Court, which upheld the earlier findings.
After the 9th Circuit Court ruled against Kennedy again, his legal team, First Liberty Institute, and Kirkland & Ellis resubmitted the matter to the Supreme Court in 2021, where it was approved.
“This is just so awesome. All I’ve ever wanted was to be back on the field with my guys,” Kennedy said after the court victory.
“I am incredibly grateful to the Supreme Court, my fantastic legal team, and everyone who has supported us,” he added. “I thank God for answering our prayers and sustaining my family through this long battle.”