NY Times · Nov 14, 2015
Prayer's Place in U.S. Football Gets High School Test
SEATTLE — Carrying out what he called a personal act of faith, high-school football coach Joe Kennedy walked out to the 50-yard-line after a recent game, knelt down and prayed.
For that post-game ritual, the Bremerton, Washington, district superintendent suspended Kennedy with pay in late October and is debating whether to renew his contract, which ends in December.
The district's crackdown marks the latest high-profile injunction against prayer at football games in the United States, where Christian observances continue unabated in many public school sports arenas, despite court rulings limiting school-sponsored religious ceremonies.
