Joe Kennedy, The Coach Who Got His Job Back After Supreme Court Ruled He Could Pray On Field Quits, Claims Shool District Retaliated

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Washington state high school assistant football coach Joe Kennedy won his battle in the Supreme Court in 2022 after fighting for his right to pray on the field. Now, after coaching just one game this season, Kennedy has quit. He had originally lost his job back in 2015.

According to a statement obtained by Fox News from the First Liberty Institute, Kennedy's resignation letter claims there was retaliation from the Bremerton School District after he was reinstated. Kennedy also noted that he needed to help care for an ailing family member out of state and even said before last week's game that he didn't know if he'd continue coaching.

"t is apparent that the reinstatement ordered by the Supreme Court will not be fully followed after a series of actions meant to diminish my role and single me out in what I can only believe is retaliation by the school district," Kennedy wrote. 

"Therefore, I am tendering my immediate resignation. I believe I can best continue to advocate for constitutional freedom and religious liberty by working from outside the school system so that is what I will do."

Joe Kennedy won his battle in Supreme Court, but has now resigned after claims of retaliation. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

First Liberty Institute, which represented Kennedy during his legal battle, is set to investigate the former coach's claims of retaliation.

"We have come to learn of serious allegations of retaliation against coach Kennedy by the Bremerton School District," Hiram Sasser, the executive general counsel of First Liberty, said.

"They’ve done everything they can to make him feel unwelcome."

School district officials asked Kennedy to not pray on the field near students claiming that his post-game prayers would suggest specific government endorsements of religion. After he insisted on praying at midfield after games, he was put on leave and the district did not renew his contract.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy's favor in June of last year.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.