Fired for leading prayer on field, Bremerton High coach Joe Kennedy to get his job back by March!
WASHINGTON, US: A former Washington high school football coach, who was fired by the school district for praying on the 50-yard line, will be reinstated before March 2023, court documents filed on Tuesday, October 25, reportedly said, Fox News reported.
Joseph Kennedy reportedly lost his position as assistant football coach at Bremerton High School in September 2015, over his refusal to stop holding prayers with players at the midfield following games. The school district claimed that Kennedy was allowed to pray by himself but had to be placed on administrative leave after he repeated the same thing. After getting fired, Kennedy took his case to the Supreme Court, where it ruled 6-3 in favor of him getting his old job back, stating that his prayers were protected under the First Amendment, according to K5 News.
RELATED NEWS
Who is Joseph Kennedy? SCOTUS rules for Christian coach suspended for praying at 50-yard line
Following the ruling, Kennedy and the school district reportedly submitted a joint stipulation to the US District Court Judge Robert Lasnik of the Western District of Washington on Tuesday. The stipulation indicated that both parties involved in this case had agreed to the conclusion that Kennedy must be reinstated to his previous position as assistant coach of the Bremerton High School football team on or before March 15, 2023.
The court document also stated that the Bremerton school district could not take future employment action against Kennedy for offering prayers consistent with the terms of the court order. However, the school administration was allowed to require all hiring forms and certificates from Kennedy’s side before letting him supervise the school players. The filling said that Kennedy was entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs and must submit a fee application within 60 days of the Court's entry of judgment.
"At this point, the School District has not received any documentation for any amount of attorney fees," the district said on Tuesday in a statement, according to Fox News. "The extent of insurance coverage for a potential attorney fees judgment is the subject of continuing discussions between the School District and its insurers." However, Kennedy and the district will file a joint submission on November 8 detailing either side’s proposed wording on the disputed issues. The court is expected to release the final verdict on the dispute in the coming weeks.
Responding to the documents, Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, said that he was glad that the school district agreed to reinstate Kennedy as an assistant coach. “After the US Supreme Court concluded that Coach Kennedy praying by himself at the 50-yard line after games he coached was entirely consistent with the US Constitution, his return to the field was inevitable,” Dys said in a statement to Epoch Times.