Lawyers for coach threaten to sue Bremerton School District over after-game

The Congressional Prayer Caucus Chairmen sent a letter with other congressmen to Bremerton School District officials Tuesday, demanding they respect the coach’s right to religious expression. Kennedy immediately took to social media proclaiming Christian martyrdom and the current frenzy ensued.

“I write now because of what I’ve seen in Bremerton this week”. “I’m seeing it all stripped away because I’m an employee”.

For the record, Coach Joe never invited anyone to pray with him-especially students.

District Schools Superintendent Aaron Leavell worries the prayers could open the district to lawsuits. That same case law not only allows, but requires, the District to prohibit such violations from recurring.

“School staff exercising their right to silently pray in private on their own is fine”.

This, of course, lead the Christian majority (including Kennedy) in Bremerton to declare victory immediately.

But Satanic Temple of Seattle chapter head Lilith Starr wrote in a news release on over the weekend that Kennedy’s prayers are exclusionary and distressing to players.

A school district in Washington State has made a decision to play hardball with a football coach who refused to stop his mid-field, post-game prayers.

“This is the land of opportunity”, said Kennedy. Kennedy violated this policy by praying while on duty as a coach, and in view of students and the public, the letter stated. Kennedy bucked the prayer ban October. 16, kneeling silently at midfield following the Knight’s homecoming game. Given the severity and likelihood of liability faced by the District in the event of further violations of these directives, any further violations will be grounds for discipline, up to and including discharge from District employment.

“If the church-state separation is breached, we really don’t think it’s right for the state to be promoting one religion over the other”, she said.

“When they find out a coach can’t even silently pray at the 50-yard-line, there’s no greater message of hostility than that”, Sasser told me. “We’re still hopeful and willing to talk to the district and meet with them … in hopes that we can resolve this without having to resort to legal proceedings”.

By not blocking Kennedy from praying, the school district has essentially created an open forum for religious expression on the field after football games, Starr said. “You’re telling me I can’t do this?”

“What they are saying is he can not pray by himself, he can not simply take a knee at the 50-yard-line”, Sasser said. “I’m standing up for what I believe is right”.

On Monday, the Satanic Temple of Seattle announced it would offer an invocation on the field after this week’s game, if its presence is requested by a student or school employee.

Dori argues that such matters should be left with a student’s faith community, and not come under the influence of a school or coach.

“They are threatening him with termination”, Jeremy Dys, one of the attorneys for the Liberty Institute, which is representing Kennedy, told CNS News.

Sasser said the district’s argument is outrageous.