Joseph Kennedy was a football coach and it was his practice at the end of games – after the players and coaches from both teams would meet at midfield to shake hands – to pause and kneel to pray. Kennedy said he wanted to give thanks for what his players had accomplished and for their safety, among other things.
Kennedy initially prayed alone on the 50-yard line at the end of games, but students started joining him and over time he began to deliver a short, inspirational talk with religious references. Kennedy says he never required players to join or asked any student to pray. He also led the team in prayer in the locker room before games, a practice that predated him.
He lost his job as a result, and subsequently sued the school district. That lawsuit has found its way to SCOTUS. This post isn’t about the lawsuit. It’s about the MSM reaction to it. Note that the story linked here is to ESPN, a sports network owned by Disney, who as we all know is embroiled in controversy over their support for teachers discussing sex with 5 year old children. In class, where the children have no choice but to listen.
So the left is claiming that students seeking the approval of the coach will participate in the religious ceremony of prayer in order to ingratiate themselves with him. This, they claim, is totally different from a teacher leading 6 year old students through an exercise on transgenderism.
As a completely non-religious person, I can say that I would rather the coach lead the children than some pink haired freak trying to convince my child that mutilating their genitals is the way to go.
6 Comments
Toastrider · April 25, 2022 at 7:51 am
Putting on my devil’s advocate cap here, there may be an argument that his actions constituted a de facto violation of the First Amendment; specifically, the establishment portion.
That being said, your remark about ‘better him than some freakshow groomer’ is spot on. It’s hard for me to give a damn about some coach leading a prayer when the left demands obeisance to their sacraments all the time.
joe · April 25, 2022 at 2:50 pm
a person can’t pray at school but some freakshow can talk about gender and sex ed in class… we live in a twisted time for sure
Don Curton · April 26, 2022 at 5:56 am
An individual conducting a voluntary prayer meeting does not violate the establishment clause. There’s a fricking chaplin in the senate. If that doesn’t violate the establishment clause, then this should be ok too.
But yeah, they’ve twisted freedom OF religion to mean freedom FROM religion using the establishment clause, which any competent judge should be able to strike down if they weren’t all leftist commie bastards too.
Jonathan · April 26, 2022 at 10:24 am
Individuals, teachers, and coaches conducting voluntary prayer meetings in schools have won dozens of lawsuits against schools and teachers trying to shut them down.
I’m very surprised that his case made it this far and I assume it did only because it was started in Western Washington, which is in competition for the most anti-religious place in the nation. I’d be shocked if the SCOTUS didn’t side with him.
The school district prohibition on any religious exercise is blatantly illegal; I think he should have gone to a lawyer with experience in these kind of cases to start with – of which there are plenty, many of which work for foundations who do only this kind of work, at no cost to the litigant.
And there is a good point, both above and in the article that if he engaged in a Liberal position, such as taking a knee, nothing would have been said.
Vitaeus · April 25, 2022 at 5:35 pm
This is in the coastal Pacific NorthWest. Any religion other than Leftism is triggering here.
joe · April 26, 2022 at 12:47 pm
I heard a part of the lefts argument on the news and it’s really no different then their viewpoint on Twitter will now destroy free speech because Elon bought it… they really can’t see their own hypocrisy in anything they do, say, or believe… it’s their way or no way…period…
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