Coach Joe Kennedy was FIRED for silently praying on the football field after the game. He could take a knee to protest the National Anthem, and that would have been allowed. But the school would not tolerate a silent prayer.

Our 9-0 win in the Christian flag case laid the foundation for Coach Kennedy’s win. YOUR SUPPORT not only benefited Coach Kennedy, but also set a new precedent making clear to every city, town and school district—Americans have the RIGHT to pray and express Christian and religious viewpoints! Read on. —Mat

Liberty Counsel is 4-0 on rulings we either argued or submitted extensive briefs to at the Supreme Court this term!

We thank God for these victories, but we need YOUR help to continue fighting for religious freedom, free speech and life. Please, consider a generous donation that will be DOUBLED in impact by the year-end Challenge Grant. But hurry! The Challenge Grant ends at midnight your time on December 31!

In 2008, Coach Joe Kennedy promised God he would pray and give thanks after each game he coached, regardless of the outcome. He would simply drop to one knee and “offer a silent or quiet prayer of thanksgiving for player safety, sportsmanship, and spirited competition.” He did this for many years without any complaints, and as time went on, members of the community and players often joined him.

In 2015, the Bremerton, WA, School District FIRED Coach Kennedy for silent praying. If he took a knee to protest America, the school would have no problem. But the school would not allow the coach to offer a silent prayer.

The school district used the same false argument as Boston did to unlawfully discriminate against Camp Constitution in our “Christian flag” case. In Shurtleff v. City of Boston, the city would allow the same flag if Hal Shurtleff deemed it secular. A “Camp Constitution flag,” with the same image, was fine. A “Christian flag” was not.

So, too, with Coach Kennedy. If he kneeled on the field and thought secular thoughts, that was permitted. But silent Christian thoughts were not. The governments in both cases used the 1971 Lemon test arguing that they had to censor the Christian speech and exercise of religion. They were wrong!

In our Christian flag case, I argued before the Court, Boston said the private speech of Camp Constitution was actually “government speech.” Yet, Boston allowed every other viewpoint on its public forum flagpole—except Christian viewpoints. On May 2, 2022, the Court ruled 9-0 in our favor.

Coach Kennedy’s case was the same song, different verse. The facts in both cases were essentially the same—government censorship of religious viewpoints using the Lemon test as justification.

Liberty Counsel submitted a powerful amicus brief in the Coach Kennedy case. The Justices referred to our Christian flag case in the Coach Kennedy opinion, saying: “In fact, just this Term the Court unanimously rejected a city’s attempt to censor religious speech based on Lemon and the endorsement test (See Shurtleff, 596 U.S.).”

The High Court also wrote, “Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic—whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head.”

As a result of our Shurtleff Christian flag case, the horrible 51-year-old Lemon test is now buried and gone forever.

Praise God for a High Court that has reversed the errors of previous “activist” judges and Justices! The Supreme Court has restored the First Amendment, preserving the right to religious freedom and speech!

Liberty Counsel started this Supreme Court session’s advance of religious liberty with our Christian flag case, and we closed it with our work on the Coach Kennedy case. We won all four cases we argued or briefed before the High Court this session. These victories will have generational impact.

Please help us continue fighting for life and freedom in 2023. Every donation made between now and 11:59 p.m., New Year's Eve will be DOUBLED IN IMPACT. Please, give generously today.

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Sources:

“SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Coach Kennedy.” Liberty Counsel, June 24, 2022. Lc.org/newsroom/details/062422-scotus-overturns-roe-v-wade.

Staver, Matthew, Anita Staver, Horatio Mihet, Roger Gannam, and Daniel Schmid. “Supreme Court of the United States on Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit BRIEF of AMICUS CURIAE LIBERTY COUNSEL in SUPPORT of PETITIONER Counsel for Amicus.” March 1, 2022. Lc.org/PDFs/Attachments2PRsLAs/2022/030222KennedyAmicusBrief.pdf.