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One of the longest battles in my life ended with a Supreme Court decision in my case in Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District . rice field. I was glad I stayed in the fight because I thought I would get to the Supreme Court.
When I went to the center of the soccer field in the last game on October 26, 2015, I remembered the day I promised God to give eight years ago. He is grateful at the 50 yard line after every match I coached, won or lost. For the past 2,436 days since I left the field, the school district has fired me for my prayers, and I have fought to return to the men.
Former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy is in his legal affairs The case, Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District, was contested in the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 25, 2022. Kennedy was quit his job in 2015 by Bremerton Public School officials after refusing to stop praying outdoors after a soccer match. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)
As of Monday, a judge in the US Supreme Court said I could.
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The fight is only part of me I do not think. I grew up on the street and always seemed to find a way to battle somewhere. Thankfully, the Marines have allowed me to fight for something really important: our freedom. All Americans are worthy of fighting for them, for their freedom, and I was proud to do so.
When I left the corps, I wanted to find a new team to fight with. I didn't know it would be a high school football coach.
Supreme Court member 2021 On April 23, 2014, he poses for a group photo at the Supreme Court of Washington. From the left, Judge Samuel Alito, Judge Clarence Thomas, Judge John Roberts, Judge Stephen Breyer, and Judge Sonia Sotomayor stand from the left. Judge Brett Kabanau, Judge Elena Cagan, Judge Neil Gorsuch, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. (Erin Schaff / AP, Pool, New York Times via File)
In high school I'm too small to play soccer was. And there were many other coaches who were more qualified to graph "X and O" than I was. But I soon learned to love my guys – the players I'm honored to coach. Some of them reminded themselves. I was angry with the world, hungry for food, needed a place to sleep safely that night, and probably needed new shoes without holes. I was able to get involved when they were in trouble at home, at school, or even the law. Someone also had to fight for them.
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Nobody Did not agree with my fight in this case. All right. America's ideal of freedom is strong enough for us to disagree as Americans and still love each other. But we should all agree that no one should be dismissed from their job just because they can see someone engaged in private prayer.
Former Bremerton High School Assistant Football Coach Joe Kennedy Stands in the center of the field on the 50-yard line of the Bremerton Memorial Stadium. (Coach Joe Kennedy (coached by Liberty Institute))
The battle also leaves scars. As a boxer and mixed martial arts fighter, my nose was beaten from a ring and octagonal bouts. The pain in this case came from a scar left on the person closest to me. My wife and children were struck by it. When my case began, my children were still attending the school I taught, and my wife was the director of human resources in the school district. Experienced this hurt all of us, but we did it together.
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My player also felt pain .. For some people, that meant that after the district banned me from the open air, no one would stand beside them in their senior nights.
Why didn't I give up the fight? There is no way I can do it. I pushed my guys into the field to not stop the fight until the whistle rang and to always give everything I had to the end. I couldn't just give up my fight to compromise my commitment to God and maintain their respect in the field. I had to keep fighting.
Former Bremerton, Washington High School football Coach Joe Kennedy. (First Liberty Institute)
Someone loses in every battle. Many times in the last 7 years, if I allowed it, I was plagued by one question: what if I lost?
Not only does that mean I will never return to the football field, but in my case other coaches and teachers could lose their jobs. It meant that there was. To make matters worse, a small part of the Constitution that I vowed to protect with the US Marine Corps in court, not because of the battle I lost on the battlefield, will be weakened.
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Thankfully, this battle has won. We hope that it means that our public school teachers and coaches don't have to hide their faith from sight. I can't wait to go back to the field, be with everyone, push them to be the best players they can, and serve everything every second of every game. ..
Win or lose, whistle, and everyone shakes hands, you can find me in the 50-yard line of your knees in private prayer.
Joe Kennedy is a former Marine. He taught high school football in Bremerton, Washington.