ICC Note: As previously reported, Joe Kennedy was suspended from his position as the football coach of Washington’s Bremerton High School on October 28 for praying on the 50 yard line at the conclusion of the games. Along with the support of the Liberty Institute, on December 15, Kennedy filed a complaint of discrimination against the school district. He claimed that the team’s offensive coordinator received no repercussions for practicing Buddhist chants in a similar fashion and, therefore, Kennedy was singled out for his Christian faith.
By Todd Starnes
12/16/2015 United States (Fox News) – One coach prayed to God. Another coach chanted to Buddha. But only one got punished — the Christian coach.
Joe Kennedy, a beloved assistant football coach in Bremerton, Washington, was suspended on Oct. 28 after he refused to stop his post-game prayers at the 50-yard line.
On Tuesday, he filed a discrimination complaint against the school district, claiming the district did not punish the team’s offensive coordinator for conducting Buddhist chants in a similar manner.
So if a Buddhist coach can chant near the 50-yard-line, why can’t a Christian coach pray on the 50-yard-line?
Liberty Institute, one of the nation’s most prominent religious liberty law firms, plans on getting an answer to that question in a complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Liberty Institute is representing Coach Kennedy in his discrimination complaint.
“BSD violated my rights to free exercise of religion and free speech by prohibiting my private religious expression and taking adverse employment action against me on the basis of my religion, notwithstanding my request for a reasonable accommodation that would allow me to practice my sincerely held religious beliefs,” Kennedy wrote in his complaint.
The school district has not commented on the complaint.
“I definitely don’t want to be in this predicament,” Coach Kennedy told me. “I just want to coach football with my guys.”
Kennedy was hired by the district in 2008 and received years of stellar evaluations and accolades for his character building with the team.
