Praying football coach creates a mess

Jose Fly

Jose Fly

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In Bremerton, WA, there's this high school football coach, Joe Kennedy, who would lead the team in prayer after games. The FFRF complained, and the Superintendent of the school issued a statement saying the the coach is a good guy, just didn't realize he was breaking the law, and had agreed to stop leading prayers at school events.

But then the coach consulted with the Liberty Institute (after the ACLJ turned him down) and they advised him to go ahead and lead the team in prayer anyways. So he did. The school then said they were "negotiating" with the coach and his legal team. Well, now it's getting messy...

The coach is now suing the school for "refusing to let him pray". Anyone wanna take bets on how well that will go? :chuckle:

To add fuel to the fire, the Satanic Temple of Seattle is going to be at the next game and attempt to pray on the field alongside the coach. This was at the request of a student at the school. Here is what the Satanists have said...

We are acting on behalf of a student there whose beliefs align with ours, and who would like to see their beliefs represented on the field alongside Christianity.

If the school chooses to tacitly approve the coach’s prayers by failing to stop or discipline him, they are opening up the football field as an open religious forum, and by federal law they must ensure that all religions have equal access to that forum, including Satanism.

We will be on hand with Satanic clergy at the football game, ready to perform the Invocation on the field if approved. If the school allows Kennedy to continue but denies our request, we would like to know the rationale behind the denial.

If the school district prevents Kennedy from praying publicly or disciplines or discharges him accordingly, we will withdraw our Invocation request.
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Get some popcorn....this is going to be entertaining! :popcorn:
 
aCultureWarrior

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Without a doubt these lost souls from Seattle's Satanist Temple will be included in Coach Kennedy's prayers.

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When haters are confronted with love, that puts them in a real quandary Mr. Fly.

How do you think that these lost souls who undoubtedly come from broken homes will feel when they see love for the first time in their lives?
 
WizardofOz

WizardofOz

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Interview with coach


For years the former Marine combat veteran would walk alone to the 50-yard line and offer a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing after football games....Over the years, players and coaches from both teams would join him — on their own volition.

 
aCultureWarrior

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Jose Fly said:
...saying the the coach is a good guy, just didn't realize he was breaking the law,...
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Maybe if Mr. Fly returns to this own thread he can tell us what law was broken, i.e. which legislative body (Congress, WA State Legislature, etc.) passed a law stating that people of faith can't pray on public school grounds.
 
Jose Fly

Jose Fly

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Nah, I'm not going to try and explain, yet again, how it is illegal for public officials to promote a particular religion while on duty. Whenever it's a Christian doing that, you fundamentalists can only think along tribal lines and will support the official no matter what. Of course when it's a non-Christian or an atheist, then suddenly you seem to get it.

But that's tribalism for you.
 
Quetzal

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WizardofOz said:
Interview with coach


For years the former Marine combat veteran would walk alone to the 50-yard line and offer a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing after football games....Over the years, players and coaches from both teams would join him — on their own volition.

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Forgive my ignorance but how is this illegal? I don't see this as an active promotion and if it is after the game and there isn't anything else going on out on the field.... why not? Maybe I missing something. :idunno:
 
Jose Fly

Jose Fly

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Quetzal said:
Forgive my ignorance but how is this illegal? I don't see this as an active promotion and if it is after the game and there isn't anything else going on out on the field.... why not? Maybe I missing something. :idunno:
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As the school has made clear, the coach is being paid for that time, thus he is on duty. And while on duty at a school event, he is going out to the middle of the field and praying. The coach of a team is also an authority figure. So you have the government, through an authority figure over students, publicly promoting Christianity.

It's no different than if a teacher started praying in a classroom in front of the students, something the courts have ruled is illegal for some time now.
 
Quetzal

Quetzal

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Jose Fly said:
As the school has made clear, the coach is being paid for that time, thus he is on duty. And while on duty at a school event, he is going out to the middle of the field and praying. The coach of a team is also an authority figure. So you have the government, through an authority figure over students, publicly promoting Christianity.

It's no different than if a teacher started praying in a classroom in front of the students, something the courts have ruled is illegal for some time now.
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Ahh. Gotcha. Thank you. :up:
 
ok doser

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Jose Fly said:
And while on duty at a school event, he is going out to the middle of the field and praying.
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and forcing others to pray?

to join him?

to watch him?

did they refuse to allow people to leave the stands until he was done?


i must have missed the part where they refused to let people leave the stands until he was done :idunno:
 
aCultureWarrior

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aCultureWarrior said:
Maybe if Mr. Fly returns to this own thread he can tell us what law was broken, i.e. which legislative body (Congress, WA State Legislature, etc.) passed a law stating that people of faith can't pray on public school grounds.
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Jose Fly said:
Nah, I'm not going to try and explain, yet again, how it is illegal for public officials to promote a particular religion while on duty.
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Come on Mr. Fly, if it's illegal to pray on public school grounds then there must be legislation to back that up. If you can't quote that law, try doing an internet search.

Now if you want to talk about how a bunch of tyrants in black robes took a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Dansbury Baptist Church totally out of context, I'll gladly discuss that with you.
 
Jose Fly

Jose Fly

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Look, I know you fundamentalists think things like this should be allowed (as long as it's Christianity the government is promoting), but that just isn't reality. It's illegal, has been for some time, and isn't likely to change.
 
ok doser

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lifeguard at the cement pond
Jose Fly said:
Look, I know you fundamentalists think things like this should be allowed (as long as it's Christianity the government is promoting), but that just isn't reality. It's illegal, has been for some time, and isn't likely to change.
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iow, you can't justify the law as it stands, you're just happy to see it enforced
 
Jose Fly

Jose Fly

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UPDATE: The coach has been put on leave.

"SEATTLE — The coach of a Washington state high school football team who prayed at games despite orders from the school district to stop was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday.

Bremerton School District officials said in a statement that assistant football coach Joe Kennedy's leave was necessitated because of his refusal to comply with district directives that he refrain from engaging in overt, public religious displays on the football field while on duty as a coach."
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