Sorry, this is a little bit of a drive-by, in so far as I haven't investigated this story to the level I normally would.
I just saw it and figured it was an interesting discussion point.
www.dailymail.co.uk
From the article :
Kennedy started coaching at the school in 2008 and initially prayed alone on the 50-yard line at the end of games.
Over time, students started joining him, and he also began to deliver a short, inspirational talk with religious references.
Kennedy did that for years without issue, and also led students in locker room prayers.
Then in 2015, the school district received complaints that some athletes felt pressured to join in the prayers, and asked him to stop out of concerns the district could be sued for violating students' religious freedom rights.
He stopped leading students in prayer in the locker room and on the field but wanted to continue kneeling and praying on the field himself after games. The school asked him not to do so while still 'on duty' as a coach after the games.
When he continued, the school put him on paid leave. The head coach of the varsity team later recommended he not be rehired because, among other things, he failed to follow district policy.
I generally don't like prayers in a locker room, in terms of it being a group exercise. Been on the end of a lot of that stuff over the years, and I don't tend to make a deal out of it, just shut up and stand quietly, but if the intent is to build a team bond, that's a quick way to destroy it for players who sit outside the assumed religious norm. I'm generally okay with making space and time for players to do as they will, and although I don't do it when coaching, I'd see nothing wrong with having a couple of minutes silence as a group where players can pray silently, do visualisations, meditate, or whatever.
The ruling here was interesting, though, and on the face of it, I think I agree. They upheld the coaches right to pray on the field (publically) after the game as he was not coercing students to join him, and he was basically 'off duty' at that point, and therefore basically a free citizen, rather than responsible for the kids.
That kinda makes sense to me, I think, and so I tend to be on his side on this one.
It does worry me, though, that at the end of the article it says the following;
In a statement on Friday, the Bremerton school district insisted that it had 'offered repeatedly to accommodate Mr. Kennedy’s desire to pray, as long as he was not delivering prayers to students or coercing students to join him.'
'Mr. Kennedy’s lawyers refused to accept any resolution that didn’t include Mr. Kennedy praying in a way that involved students,' the district added.
If anyone has further thoughts, or knows more about this, let me know. The way the article closes certainly suggests that it might be a little trickier than I was first thinking. Then again, if they were telling him he should pray out of sight of the students once he is 'off duty'...well...why?
I just saw it and figured it was an interesting discussion point.
High school coach fired for on-field prayer wins $2M settlement
The board of Bremerton School District in Washington state voted unanimously on Thursday to approve the $1,775,000 settlement payment to former coach Joseph Kennedy.
From the article :
Kennedy started coaching at the school in 2008 and initially prayed alone on the 50-yard line at the end of games.
Over time, students started joining him, and he also began to deliver a short, inspirational talk with religious references.
Kennedy did that for years without issue, and also led students in locker room prayers.
Then in 2015, the school district received complaints that some athletes felt pressured to join in the prayers, and asked him to stop out of concerns the district could be sued for violating students' religious freedom rights.
He stopped leading students in prayer in the locker room and on the field but wanted to continue kneeling and praying on the field himself after games. The school asked him not to do so while still 'on duty' as a coach after the games.
When he continued, the school put him on paid leave. The head coach of the varsity team later recommended he not be rehired because, among other things, he failed to follow district policy.
I generally don't like prayers in a locker room, in terms of it being a group exercise. Been on the end of a lot of that stuff over the years, and I don't tend to make a deal out of it, just shut up and stand quietly, but if the intent is to build a team bond, that's a quick way to destroy it for players who sit outside the assumed religious norm. I'm generally okay with making space and time for players to do as they will, and although I don't do it when coaching, I'd see nothing wrong with having a couple of minutes silence as a group where players can pray silently, do visualisations, meditate, or whatever.
The ruling here was interesting, though, and on the face of it, I think I agree. They upheld the coaches right to pray on the field (publically) after the game as he was not coercing students to join him, and he was basically 'off duty' at that point, and therefore basically a free citizen, rather than responsible for the kids.
That kinda makes sense to me, I think, and so I tend to be on his side on this one.
It does worry me, though, that at the end of the article it says the following;
In a statement on Friday, the Bremerton school district insisted that it had 'offered repeatedly to accommodate Mr. Kennedy’s desire to pray, as long as he was not delivering prayers to students or coercing students to join him.'
'Mr. Kennedy’s lawyers refused to accept any resolution that didn’t include Mr. Kennedy praying in a way that involved students,' the district added.
If anyone has further thoughts, or knows more about this, let me know. The way the article closes certainly suggests that it might be a little trickier than I was first thinking. Then again, if they were telling him he should pray out of sight of the students once he is 'off duty'...well...why?
