A high school football coach suspended for praying after games expressed gratitude on Megyn Kelly’s Fox News show to his players and other students for supporting him as he takes legal action alleging religious discrimination.
Joe Kennedy, coach at Washington state’s Bremerton High School, has a tradition of praying midfield after games. The school district put Kennedy, a 20-year veteran of the Marine Corps, on paid administrative leave in October.
“These kids are dynamite. I work with some of the most incredible kids around. They’re like, ‘Coach, we support you,’” Kennedy told Kelly on Thursday night. “They’ve all been supporting me no matter what their beliefs are.”
Kennedy’s appearance on Kelly’s show followed his interview with The Daily Signal’s Kelsey Harkness.
Over the years, students and players—including those with opposing teams—have joined the coach for prayer on the 50-yard-line.
Kennedy and his lawyer from Liberty Institute, Mike Berry, described to Kelly how they filed a federal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—the last mandatory step taken before a lawsuit can be filed—after school district administrators refused to meet in person with Kennedy’s legal representatives.
“This is his First Amendment right to engage in private prayer,” Berry said. “We even asked if he could just do a moment of silence and the school said, ‘No, we think a moment of silence is also unconstitutional.’
“I don’t understand why the school district feels the need to bully this coach like this,” he said.
