The high school football coach who was fired for praying with his students has won a huge payout said to be close to $2 million.
According to reports, Joseph Kennedy, former coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state, is set to receive $1,775,000 after the Bremerton School District voted unanimously to approve the settlement.
Not only that, but Kennedy has also been given the OK to return to his duties as assistant football coach at the high school for the 2023 season.
The coach made headlines after he lost his job in 2015 for praying on the pitch despite being asked by the school not to do so while “on duty”.
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According to the Daily Mail, Kennedy started working at Bremerton High School back in 2008 and would pray on the 50-yard line at the end of games.
Before long, student athletes joined him, and Kennedy began giving inspirational talks peppered with religious references. It’s said the coach would also lead his team in prayer in the locker room.
Yet in 2015, the Bremerton School District received complaints suggesting that some of Kennedy’s players felt pressured to join in – Kennedy was asked to stop praying while on duty over fears the school district might be sued for violating the religious freedom rights of the students.
Reports say Kennedy ceased with the locker room prayers and also stopped praying on the field with his players, though he himself continued to kneel and pray on the field after games. He was again told to stop this, but didn’t adhere to the request.
Eventually, Kennedy was placed on paid leave by the school. At the end of that season he wasn’t rehired, with the Daily Mail sating that the head coach of the team had recommended that the school replace him for failing to follow district policy.
Thus began a near-eight-year legal battle – one that has now come to a close with victory for Kennedy.
In June, 2022 the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in his favor after finding that his right to kneel with student athletes and pray on the field was protected by the Constitution.
Now, the coach will receive an almost $2 million settlement, as well as being able to return to his former position.
He told the Daily Mail: “It is just incredible to know that I did nothing wrong. Everything I did was fine.
“I had a commitment with God that I’d give him thanks after every football game, win or lose.
“And that’s the way I started out.”
School board president Alyson Rotter said: “We look forward to moving past the distraction of this nearly eight-year legal battle so that our school community can focus on what matters most: providing our children the best education possible.”
What do you think to the initial firing of Coach Kennedy? Is it right and fair that he should be allowed to pray with his players?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments box. Meanwhile, share this article on Facebook so that we can encourage a healthy debate.
