The Supreme Court unties a knotty issue by ruling that, in firing him, a school district violated coach Joe Kennedy’s constitutional rights. Pictured: Kennedy speaks with reporters April 25 outside the Supreme Court Building after his case was argued. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images) Thomas Jipping is a senior legal fellow with the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. The First Amendment to the Constitution has two connected clauses on religion, one prohibiting an “establishment of religion” and the other protecting the “free exercise thereof.” The case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District involved a high school football coach, Joe Kennedy, who routinely kneeled midfield after games to offer a private prayer of thanks, saying he was engaging in the free exercise of his religion. His school district in Washington state fired Kennedy for doing so, claiming that allowing such a religious display would amount to an establishment of religion. In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District , the Supreme Court tried to untie this knot by ruling Monday that the school district violated the coach’s constitutional rights. Since being hired in 2008, Kennedy had knelt on the field after each game to briefly […]
