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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
Citation:
142 S. Ct. 2407Facts
Joseph Kennedy served as a football coach at Bremerton High School from 2008 to 2015. Initially, he began a practice of kneeling at the 50-yard line after games to offer a brief prayer of thanks. Over time, some players voluntarily joined him. Kennedy also separately engaged in religious talks with students in the locker room. After the District learned of these practices in 2015, it directed Kennedy to stop leading students in prayer. Kennedy ceased the locker room prayers but continued his personal practice of kneeling for a brief prayer at midfield after games. The District then suspended Kennedy, stating that his visible religious conduct could be perceived as District endorsement of religion. Kennedy did not return for the next season and subsequently filed suit, claiming violations of his First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion. The lower courts ruled in favor of the District, finding that Kennedy’s speech was government speech and that the District had a compelling interest in avoiding an Establishment Clause violation. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Kennedy’s prayers were private speech protected by the First Amendment, and that the District’s concerns about an Establishment Clause violation were unfounded.
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