Supreme Court Rules for Coach Who Prayed at Football Games

The Supreme Court on Monday sided with a former high school football coach who prayed at the 50-yard after games, ruling that his public prayers were protected as free speech and free exercise of religion.

The 6-3 decision is a victory for those who seek a larger role for prayer and religion in public schools.

The court’s conservatives cast aside long-standing ideas that the Constitution mandates a strict separation of church and state. While they agreed students may not be required to pray or listen to a religious message, they said private prayers at school are protected, not prohibited.

They ruled that Coach Joe Kennedy’s prayers began as a personal expression, and were not official acts of promoting religion simply because they drew a crowd.

The 1st Amendment protects the freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion while prohibiting an “establishment of religion,” and all three clauses were at issue in the case of Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District. (Read more from “Supreme Court Rules for Coach Who Prayed at Football Games” HERE)

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