Court hears arguments on coach’s right to pray on field

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA) – The Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 25 that lasted nearly two hours in a case concerning a former high school football coach’s right to pray on the field.

Both sides of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District argue that the case concerns religious freedom – with the ex-coach, Joseph Kennedy, emphasizing his right to religious freedom and his former employer, Bremerton High School, citing students’ right to religious freedom.

Kennedy, a Christian, lost his job as a public school football coach in Bremerton, Washington, for refusing to stop praying at the 50-yard line after games.

“When Coach Kennedy took a knee at the midfield after games to say a brief prayer of thanks, his expression was entirely his own,” Paul D. Clement, Kennedy’s attorney, said during oral arguments. “That private religious expression was doubly protected by the free exercise and free speech clauses.”

The case centers on two questions: “(1) Whether a public-school employee who says a brief, quiet prayer by himself while at school and visible to students is engaged in government speech that lacks any First Amendment protection; and (2) whether, assuming that such religious expression is private and protected by the free speech and free exercise clauses, the establishment clause nevertheless compels public schools to prohibit it.”

In front of the justices, Richard B. Katskee, a lawyer representing the Bremerton School District, argued that Kennedy’s actions as a coach pressured students to pray.

The Bremerton School District’s brief complains that Kennedy prayed “while on duty” and claims that the practice “could be coercive.” The district maintains that it tried to “accommodate” Kennedy by suggesting, among other things, that he pray in the press box away from the rest of the team.