Supreme Court Allows Washington Football Coach to Pray At Games
The Supreme Court continues its conservative ruling today, backing a former Washington State football coach ruling that he is allowed to pray at football games. The decision was 6-3 in case that has national ramifications.
Once again, the three liberals voted against allow Coach Joseph Kennedy to pray at games, reports the New York Times. The coach had been praying for many years before and after football games. School officials told him to stop praying if it interfered with his coaching duties. The coach continued on and his contract was not renewed.
The SCOTUS decision is a major victory for not only Coach, but religious conservatives who've argued for years that religion is a vital part of our culture. USA TODAY shared a portion of the opinion from Justice Neil Gorsuch.
"The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike," Gorsuch wrote.
The ruling overrules a decision by the liberal ninth circuit that said Coach Kennedy was acting as a public employee while praying at the 50 yard line. Advocates of the separation of church and state took to social media to criticize Coach Kennedy's freedom to pray at football games.
Sports Illustrated was in the crossfire for posting a tweet featuring Coach Kennedy taking a knee before the steps of the Supreme Court. Their tweet was highly ripped throughout social media, reports Fox News.
First Liberty published a lengthy defense of Coach Kennedy. You can read their piece here.