A Washington state assistant high school football coach who gained national attention after he was fired for leading his team in post-game prayers will be back on the sidelines when his team takes the field this Friday.
In 2015, Joseph Kennedy was suspended from Bremerton High School after he ignored orders to stop religious displays on the field. The school district eventually declined to renew his contract and for the next eight years Kennedy fought to get his job back.
His case lost at every court level until it was presented to the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor awarding him a $1.7 million settlement.
Now he’s ready to return to the field, and he’s revealing his plans for his first game back.
When the clock sounds to indicate the end of the game, Kennedy plans to “take a knee” and pray to God.
However, this time will be a little different than in past years.
“Knowing that everybody’s expecting me to go do this kind of gives me a lot of angst in my stomach,” he told the Associated Press. “People are going to freak out that I’m bringing God back into public schools.”
While Kennedy is looking forward to getting back on the field, he’s not sure how much longer he’ll continue to coach.
“So many people are asking, ‘What’s next?’ And I have no idea,” Kennedy said. “Do I stay for the season? Do I stay for a couple of games? Is this the only game? We don’t know.”
After eight years of fighting to get his job back, Kennedy felt he had to return to Washington – he and his wife currently live in Florida – even though it was a job that paid less than $5,000.
For now, his focus is on the school’s first game of the season.
As for what’s next, “We’ll make some decisions of what’s next in our life, because obviously it’s not going to be football forever. We’d like to do — I don’t know — maybe some ministry or something.”
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Do you think the coach should be publicly praying on the field? Share your opinion with us in the comments!
