In this Oct. 16, 2015 file photo, former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy, obscured at center, is surrounded by Centralia High School football players in Bremerton, Wash., after they took a knee with him and prayed following their game against Bremerton. Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun via AP A Christian public high school football coach insisted on leading prayers with his players at the 50-yard line immediately after the game. The school district told him to stop and when he didn’t, fired him. That dispute now rests at the Supreme Court. The Bremerton School District in Washington state recognized that a coach can exert a profound influence on high school students. It also appreciated that when the coach prominently and publicly leads prayers with his team on the playing field as part of a sports event, the prayers appear to be school-sponsored. The district rejected both the idea and the appearance of a pray to play system. It reasoned that the First Amendment’s establishment clause prohibited the coach, Joseph Kennedy, from convening and conducting those prayers. The establishment clause blocks a governmental entity or its representative from endorsing or promoting religion or any particular religion. The coach-led […]
