First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit Christian organization, represented Joe Kennedy in his legal battle against the school board of Bremerton, Wash., after Kennedy, a high school football coach, was fired in 2015 for defying a prayer ban.
Before Kennedy coached his first game in 2008, he made a commitment to God that he would give thanks after each game — win or lose — for the opportunity to be a coach and for the well-being of the players. For the next seven years, after each game, Kennedy walked to the center of the football field to say a prayer. He complied with school district instruction that he could continue his practice as long as he did not lead his athletes in prayer.
But in 2015, the school district instructed Kennedy he could only pray where others wouldn’t see him doing it. Just hours before what would be Kennedy’s last game as coach, he was warned that if he prayed publicly after that night’s game, such action would result in his termination as a coach.
Kennedy explained why he disregarded the warning: “As a proudly retired Marine, something inside me stirred. I would have given my life defending the religious freedom of any American, and yet that right was denied to me. That just seemed wrong and unjust.”
When First Liberty took Kennedy’s case, the........