Coach Files Lawsuit Over Postgame Prayer

Kennedy’s lawyers will argue the school district violated his First Amendment rights to free speech as well as his right to freely practice religion under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act when they placed him on paid administrative leave in 2015 and opted not to renew his contract for this coming fall. Conversely, the school district will most likely contend Kennedy’s postgame sessions constituted school-sponsored prayer, which would also violate the First Amendment based on a 1962 Supreme Court ruling. This is the debate.