Bill Handel

Bill Handel

Listen to Bill Handel Weekdays from 6 to 9AM on KFI AM 640! Full Bio

 

Supreme Court Backs High School Coach Who Led Prayer On Field

Football huddle

Photo: Getty Images

The Supreme Court has ruled that a high school football coach shouldn't have been fired for leading team prayers on the field.

The case centered around Joe Kennedy, a coach at a Washington school district who lost his job after gathering team members to pray at the 50-yard line following games.

The Court ruled 6-3 that Kennedy's First Amendment rights were violated.

In the majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch pointed out that students were not required to participate in the prayers.

"Both the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect expressions like Mr. Kennedy’s," Gorsuch wrote. "Nor does a proper understanding of the Amendment’s Establishment Clause require the government to single out private religious speech for special disfavor. The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike."

Read more on NBC News.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content