Coach ramps up fight for
prayers on 50-yard line, Trump decries 'absolutely
outrageous' attack on 'religious liberty', by Bob Unruh, 10/4/16, WND
NFL players are using the playing of
the national anthem to promote a social agenda, and it’s already spread to
college and high school athletes. There have been no serious repercussions.
But let a high school coach, on his
own initiative, kneel in prayer at midfield after a game and watch out. That’s
the substance of the legal argument developing for Joe Kennedy, an assistant
football coach for Bremerton High School in Washington State until he was fired
for taking a knee on the field before and after games and praying.
A district court denied his request
to halt the school district’s discrimination against him, and now he has
notified the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of his plan to appeal. “I’ve
attended the games this season as a spectator, but it’s been a punch in the gut
to be in the stands,” Kennedy said in a statement released by First Liberty Institute, which is working on his case. “I hope the court will rule
that I can get back on the sidelines and keep coaching these amazing guys.”
Kennedy sued after Bremerton High
School terminated him for offering a brief, quiet prayer at the 50-yard line
after football games. In the lawsuit, Kennedy’s attorneys claimed the Bremerton
School District violated Kennedy’s First Amendment rights.
“If the Constitution protects the
right of a football coach to kneel in protest, it should certainly protect the
right of a football coach to kneel in prayer,” said Mike Berry, the institute’s
senior counsel. Kennedy wants only to get his job back; he is seeking no
monetary damages.
His original lawsuit was filed Aug.
9 in the Western District of Washington. The next month he asked for a
preliminary injunction. His notice of appeal to the 9th Circuit came this week
after his request was rejected.
WND reported when Kennedy was suspended by school officials. “Effective
immediately,” Superintendent Aaron Leavell wrote in a letter to the coach,
“pending further district review of your conduct, you are placed on paid
administrative leave from your position as an assistant coach with the
Bremerton High School football program. You may not participate, in any
capacity, in BHS football program activities.” Shortly later, during the 2015
football season, the school dismissed him.
In an appearance on Fox News,
Kennedy described his reasons for praying: “It’s something that I kind of made
an agreement with, my personal faith in God, that this is something I was going
to do – give Him the glory after every single game and do it on the 50 and I’m
kind of a guy of my word.”
As WND reported, he said he prayed both before and after games for years
for the safety of all the players. Often, players on both teams would join him
on the field to bow their heads.
Hiram Sasser, Kennedy’s attorney,
said the school is acting in a hostile manner toward Christianity and “sending
the message to all people of faith that they are not welcome.”
Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump mentioned Kennedy’s “outrageous” plight while speaking about
religious liberty during the Retired American Warriors PAC gathering on Monday
in Herndon, Virginia.
“The other day, just to add to your
list, I was watching one of the news programs and they had a, I think high
school football coach, you know, they’re going into battle,” said Trump. Audience
members then interrupted Trump, saying “he’s here,” referring to the coach. Trump,
who said he had no idea Kennedy was in attendance, then asked the former Marine
Corps gunnery sergeant to stand. “So you’re not allowed to pray before a
football game?” Trump asked.
“They put me on suspension and then
at the end of the year they gave me an adverse write-up of how well I did my
job. I didn’t change anything for eight years,” Kennedy told Trump in front of
the other retired service members. “Always prayed after every game. And they
just really slapped me on it. Said what a horrible person I was. Ended up just
not renewing my contract, so ultimately firing me.”
Trump responded that Kennedy’s
termination was “absolutely outrageous. I think it’s outrageous. I think it’s
very, very sad and outrageous. Hey, it’s about religious liberty.”
Comments
We need to close the US Department
of Education to begin bringing the federal government into compliance with the
“enumerated powers” in the US Constitution.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party
Leader
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