US Supreme Court endorses high school football coach to pray on field after games


By Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, here Monday, said a high school football coach who knelt and prayed on the field after games was protected by the Constitution, a decision opponents say would open the door to “ much more coercive sentences” in public. schools.

The court ruled 6-3 in favor of the coach with the Conservative justices in the majority and the Liberals dissenting. The case was the latest in a series of rulings for religious plaintiffs.

The case forced judges to wrestle over how to balance the religious and free speech rights of teachers and coaches with the rights of students not to feel pressured to engage in religious practices. Minority liberal justices said there was evidence that Bremerton, Washington, high school coach Joseph Kennedy’s prayers at the 50-yard line had a coercive effect on students and allowed him to incorporate his “personal religious beliefs into a school event.

Dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the decision “takes us further down a dangerous path by forcing states to tangle with religion.” But the judges mostly emphasized that the coach’s prayers came after the games were over and at a time when he was not responsible for the students and was free to do other things.

The trainer and his attorneys from the First Liberty Institute, a Christian legal group, were among those who applauded the decision. Kennedy said in an interview that his first reaction was pure joy. “Just like in all my football games, I put my arms up, you know, ‘touchdown,’” he said. He described the seven years since the feud began as tough on his family, but “absolutely worth it.”

Joe Kennedy, former assistant football coach at Bremerton High School in Bremerton
(Photo | AP)

Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority in the ruling, stated: “The Constitution and the best of our traditions advise mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and repression, for both religious and non-religious viewpoints.

Gorsuch noted that the coach “prayed during a period when school employees were free to talk to a friend, make a restaurant reservation, check email, or attend to other personal matters” and “while his students were away.” busy”.

It would be a mistake to treat everything public school teachers and coaches say and do as speech subject to government control, he wrote. If that were the case, “a school could fire a Muslim teacher for wearing a headscarf in the classroom or prohibit a Christian aide from praying silently during her lunch in the cafeteria,” she wrote.

He closed by writing that: “Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic, whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or in a field, and whether they are manifested through the spoken word.” or bowed head.

The decision follows a pattern in which the court has ruled in favor of the religious plaintiffs. Last week, the court ruled that Maine cannot exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition assistance for private education, a decision that could make it easier for religious organizations to access taxpayer money.

Disagreeing, Sotomayor wrote Monday that players “recognize that getting the coach’s approval can pay dividends big and small, from additional playing time to a stronger letter of recommendation and additional support in college athletic recruiting.” And he said, “some students reported joining Kennedy’s prayer because they felt social pressure to follow their coach and teammates.”

Sotomayor was joined in her dissent by Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.

Paul Clement, the attorney who argued the case on Kennedy’s behalf, said in a statement that the decision would allow the coach “to finally get back to where he belongs: coaching football and praying alone in silence after the game.”

Kennedy now lives in Florida, and it was unclear when, or if, she might move back across the country to Washington state for a part-time job that had paid her less than $5,000. He said in the interview that he is in Florida to help his mother-in-law, but his family remains in Washington and it was never his intention to stay in Florida permanently. He said his attorneys and his school district would have to work things out for him to return to coaching.

He began training at the school in 2008 and initially prayed alone at the 50-yard line at the end of games. Students began to join him, and over time he began to give a short, inspiring talk with religious references. Kennedy did that for years and also led students in locker room prayers. The school district found out about what he was doing in 2015 and asked him to stop, fearing the district could be sued for violating students’ religious freedom rights.

He stopped leading students in prayer in the locker room and on the field, but he himself wanted to continue kneeling and praying on the field after games. The school asked him not to while he was still “on duty” as a coach after games. When he continued, the school put him on paid leave. Later, the varsity head coach recommended that he not be rehired because, among other things, he did not follow district policy.

In a statement, the Bremerton School District and its attorneys from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State said the decision undermines the separation required by the Constitution. The school district said in a statement that it had “followed the law and acted to protect the religious freedom of all students and their families.”

Rachel Laser, director of Americans United, said the decision “opens the door to much more coercive prayer in our public schools” and undermines religious freedom for students.

School district attorney Richard Katskee said he is reviewing the decision and considering next steps. Three judges on the court, Breyer, Kagan and Justice Samuel Alito, attended public high schools, while the other six attended Catholic schools.



Reference-www.newindianexpress.com

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