Why punish a football coach to kneel in prayer?
Two high school football coaches in America are raising that question as they expressed their support to fellow football coach Joe Kennedy of Bremerton High School who was punished for praying with students at the 50-yard line after games, The Christian Post reported.
Like Kennedy, coaches Kellen Alley and Joseph Thomas of Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington have gained national attention when they and their team knelt during the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner" before a game, just like what San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick did.
On Monday, Alley and Thomas filed an amicus brief, arguing that Kennedy should not be punished for praying on the field following games, as his actions constitute the same First Amendment "expressive conduct" as their kneeling during the playing of the national anthem.
"To date, the Seattle School District, which operates Garfield High School and is the employer for both Thomas and Alley, has not taken any action to stop or prevent the coaches from participating in this action with their students, or to attempt to limit the coaches' ability to speak regarding this issue," read the brief.
Before the Bremerton School District acted to suspend him from serving as football coach of Bremerton High School in November 2015, Kennedy used to go to the 50-yard line to kneel and pray, with some students voluntarily joining him.
In a statement, the school district conceded that they found no evidence that Kennedy directly coerced the students to pray with him.
However, it argued that "while attending games may be voluntary for most students, students required to be present by virtue of their participation in football or cheerleading will necessarily suffer a degree of coercion to participate in religious activity when their coaches lead or endorse it."
In August Kennedy filed a lawsuit against the school district with the assistance of the First Liberty Institute. Kennedy's lawsuit claims the district discriminated against him on the basis of his religion and violated both his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In a statement released Tuesday, First Liberty Senior Counsel Mike Berry sad if "the Constitution protects the right of a football coach to kneel to protest injustice, it certainly protects the right of a football coach to kneel in prayer."
"Whether you are liberal or conservative, whether you are a person of devout faith or no faith at all, we should all seek to defend the right to free speech," said Berry. "It's central to our American identity as a diverse, pluralistic society, where we foster the free exchange of ideas."
