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Supreme Court Signals Victory for Praying Football Coach

By Kevin Daley

 

The Supreme Court on Monday looked poised to side with a high school football coach who claims he was unfairly suspended for praying on the field.

The Bremerton School District in 2015 suspended coach Joe Kennedy, claiming his postgame prayers were designed to cause a spectacle. Kennedy pushed back, claiming he was exercising his First Amendment rights. During Monday’s arguments, the justices seemed to take Kennedy’s side.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed back on the district’s characterization of Kennedy as an attention-seeker and said it’s hard for a head coach to do anything discreetly during an athletic event. Justice Samuel Alito took issue with the district’s rationale for suspending Kennedy.

Kennedy’s case comes amid a broader reckoning with First Amendment rights in schools. The justices are grappling with a school choice case that’s poised to deliver First Amendment protection to families who use vouchers at religious schools. And the Court last term telegraphed a reappraisal of its school speech cases in a minor case involving a vulgar cheerleader.

 

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