BREMERTON — Joe Kennedy, suspended assistant varsity football coach and head junior varsity football coach of Bremerton High School, has filed a charge of religious discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the Bremerton School District.
Kennedy was suspended by the school district on Oct. 28 for publicly praying on the 50-yard line after high school football games. Students would join him, but Kennedy said he never encouraged it. However, the school district stated that his praying while on duty as an official district representative was akin to the district endorsing one religion over others, which is against the law.
A Dec. 15 press release from the law firm representing Kennedy, the Liberty Institute, states, “Coach Kennedy has prayed after football games for the last seven years. Bremerton School District admits Coach Kennedy did not encourage students to participate in his prayers — and no students, coaches or parents ever complained. Nevertheless, in September 2015, the Bremerton School District sent Coach Kennedy a letter, ordering him to stop praying with players after the game. The school district later denied Coach Kennedy’s request for a religious accommodation and announced that Coach Kennedy was prohibited from engaging in any visible religious expression while on duty.
“After Liberty Institute advised the school that Coach Kennedy’s prayers are constitutionally protected, Coach Kennedy continued to kneel at midfield and offer a brief, silent prayer by himself after football games, in compliance with Bremerton School District’s September letter. Bremerton School District responded that even praying silently by himself on the field is a violation of school district policy and eventually suspended Coach Kennedy the day before the last game of the season”
At that game Oct. 29, the Satanic Temple of Seattle visited Bremerton High School in an effort to maintain equal rights.
Lilith Star, chapter head of the temple, said then, “We intend to take full advantage of the same religious forum, since the district has failed to take action on what is clearly a breach of church-state separation.”
In a press release, Starr said, “Not all students are Christians, and may feel pressured to pray nonetheless when led by a school-sponsored authority figure, especially a coach. The Satanic Temple is taking steps to ensure that our faith is allowed equal representation at Bremerton High School, as required by law.”
Kennedy was suspended the day before the game, but around 18 members of the Satanic Temple still showed up at the request of at least one Bremerton High School student. The group did not stay long, only about 15 minutes, and did not go onto the field to perform an invocation as they had planned if the district did not prevent Kennedy from praying.
In the charge, Kennedy said, “(Bremerton School District) violated my rights to free exercise of religion and free speech by prohibiting my private religious expression.”
Filing an EEOC complaint is the final step Kennedy must take before filing a lawsuit against the school district.
Kennedy is represented by the Liberty Institute, a Texas-based nonprofit law firm, as well as Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Oldfield & Helsdon, PLLC, and attorney Anthony J. Ferate.
Liberty Institute lawyer Mike Berry, senior counsel, said, “All we are asking is for Coach Kennedy to be allowed to pray alone, silently and briefly, at the 50-yard line after the game.”
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher lawyer Rebekah Ricketts said, “We hope the EEOC takes this charge of religious discrimination seriously. We fully expect that Coach Kennedy’s First Amendment rights will be vindicated.”
According to the Liberty Institute’s IRS form 990, more than 99 percent of the firm’s annual revenue for 2013 came from contributions. The Liberty Institute’s web page for Kennedy features a large red “Donate” button.
The Liberty Institute has set up a site containing case background and facts, coachkennedyfacts.com.
