Praying Coach Case to Test Religious Rights of Public Workers

Kneeling at midfield to say a quick prayer of thanks in the hubbub immediately following a public high school football game is the sort of private religious act protected by the U.S. Constitution’s free speech clause, a Christian coach in Washington state will tell the Ninth Circuit at oral argument Monday.

The 50-yard line of a football field is different from the front of a class full of students, former Bremerton High School assistant coach Joe Kennedy says. That means he was speaking as a private citizen, not a public employee whose speech the school district had the right to ...