Praying Football Coach Gets $1.7 Million Settlement And His Job Back

A football coach in Washington state who was fired for leading his players in on-field prayers will get his job back and a whole lot more.

Joseph Kennedy started coaching at Bremerton High School in 2008. He eventually started praying at the 50-yard line after games. Eventually, some players chose to participate as well. This concerned the school district and they suspended him in 2015.

"It was my covenant between me and God that after every game, win or lose, I'm going to do it right there on the field of battle," Kennedy told ABC News in a 2022 interview.

Kennedy sued the school district and the case made its way to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court issued a split decision in June of 2022, that the First Amendment protected, Kennedy's right to practice his religion.

Joseph Kennedy will go back to coaching at Bremerton High School after being let go for praying with players. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote according to The Seattle Times.

Last week, the Bremerton school board has voted unanimously to bring Kennedy back to the football program. Not only that, but they also approved a $1.7 million settlement,

“Mr. Kennedy will be an assistant football coach for Bremerton High School for the 2023 season,” said on its website. They will also pay for Kennedy's lawyers in interest-free payments over the next few years

"This is a right for everybody. It doesn't matter if you're this religion or that religion or have no faith whatsoever," Kennedy said in his interview with ABC News last year.

"Everybody has the same rights in America."

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