CLEVELAND, Ohio — A U.S. Supreme Court decision out this week sided with a high school football coach, saying a public school district cannot prohibit him from praying on the field after games. The implications could reach Northeast Ohio, though some believe the ruling leaves more questions than answers.
“This case is kind of at the intersection of multiple aspects of the First Amendment,” said Professor Jessie Hill, a First Amendment specialist at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law.
In 2015, Joseph Kennedy was fired by the Bremerton School District after kneeling in prayer at the 50-yard-line following a football game. He said his termination violated his rights to free speech and religion. The school district argued his prayer at a public school event violated the separation of church and state because it could be interpreted as the district endorsing religion.
SCOTUS ruled in favor of the coach 6-3, with conservative judges in the majority and the court’s liberal judges dissenting.
In the majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the coach was engaging in private prayer.
He wrote, “Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic—whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field.”
The dissenting opinion, written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said the court misinterpreted the record and placed the coach’s rights above those of students and others.
“It applies a nearly toothless version of the coercion analysis, failing to acknowledge the unique pressures faced by students when participating in school-sponsored activities,” Sotomayor wrote.
Hill explained, “This case was strange because there were so many disagreements about what exactly the facts were in this case. The majority opinion and the dissent really disagreed about things like – ‘How public was it?’ ‘How coercive was the praying?’ ‘Were students heavily involved?’”
While the case made its way onto the SCOTUS docket, Kirtland Local Schools faced its own debate about religion in public life.
In a complaint filed with the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), the parent said a post-game prayer involving players and coaches from two public school teams, the Kirtland Hornets and the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans, prayed together on the 50-yard line following the Division V state semifinal in late November.
The complaint also detailed instances of coach-led prayers before games in the Hornets’ locker room and a priest’s sermon at a pep rally and team dinner.
READ MORE: Kirtland football parent files First Amendment complaint after post-game prayer
“With the Kirtland situation, I don’t think the Supreme Court case changes how we feel about the facts that were presented with us in that case,” said Karen Heineman, a legal fellow at FFRF.
Heineman said many cases dealing with religion and public schools had been put on hold, awaiting the outcome of the Kennedy V. Bremerton case. But she believes the Kirtland complaint still represents a First Amendment violation because the players present felt pressured to participate.
“All of the players are required to be there. They are, as we say, a ‘captive audience,’” Heineman said. “I think we still have to try to figure out where the boundaries are for coercion within a public school context. And I think that's the next step.”
Hill said Monday’s ruling provided narrow guidance and future rulings could vary based on facts and circumstances.
“This is kind of one of those Supreme Court cases that opened up more questions than it answered,” she said. “And it’s going to maybe create more litigation than put an end to it.”
FFRF said it plans to press Kirtland as long as its client is on board.
News 5 reached out to Kirtland Local Schools for comment. The district sent the same statement it issued in March:
“The Kirtland Local Schools takes its legal obligations seriously under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In that vein, the District complies with the requirements set forth in the Establishment Clause; it has not, does not, and will not adopt any policy or rule respecting or promoting an establishment of religion.
The District has investigated the claims and took action to ensure that it continues to meet the parameters of the Establishment Clause.”
