A thankful Kennedy takes a knee after return to Bremerton football field
Joe Kennedy paused near the middle of Bremerton Memorial Stadium's field and eventually found a knee, bowing his head while offering up a silent prayer that lasted maybe 10 seconds.
"I said 'thank you' probably 30 times," Kennedy said. "I had no other words."
It was a brief moment eight years in the making for the Bremerton High School football assistant coach, who otherwise took a backseat during the Knights' 27-12 victory over Mount Douglas Secondary School on Friday night. It was Kennedy's first contest with the team since losing his job in 2015 following a battle with Bremerton School District over his right to pray after games.
When the Supreme Court in 2022 sided with Kennedy in his prayer case against the district, it paved the way for his eventual return to the sidelines. Roughly two dozen media members attended Bremerton's season-opening game, simply to witness Kennedy offer up moment of prayer at its conclusion.
"It wasn't that big of a deal," Kennedy said. "I did what I've always done."
With Bremerton School District adding extra security personnel for the contest, Kennedy admitted to being "terrified" at the thought of 10,000 people potentially showing up. Instead, district spokesperson Karen Bevers said the number of people in attendance hovered around 1,000. There were no signs of protesters or disruptions at any point. Just a football game won by the home team.
"It was just an awesome, awesome evening," Kennedy said.
Before Friday, the last time Kennedy appeared on the sidelines of a Bremerton football game was during the latter stages of the 2015 season. That fall, Bremerton School District warned Kennedy about conducting on-field prayers after games. It was a tradition he began as a solitary act shortly after being hired as an assistant coach in 2008, but later began to involve students.
After initially acceding to the district's prayer ban, Kennedy changed his mind. In the days leading up to Bremerton's home game against Centralia on Oct. 16, 2015, Kennedy publically declared that he would pray after the contest. He followed through, praying at the 50-yard line while surrounded by numerous Centralia players, who supported Kennedy by taking a knee.
Two weeks later, the district placed Kennedy on paid administrative leave. He watched the remainder of Bremerton's season as a spectator while contemptating his legal options.
“It’s really sad that it’s come to this,” Kennedy said at the time. “I never wanted any legal stuff. I never wanted any problems. I just wanted to give thanks for my team out there. And you know it’s come to this, and it could end really quickly, but it hasn’t, and it doesn’t seem to have any end in sight.”
As an assistant coach working on a standard, one-year contract, Kennedy was not rehired once the season concluded. Nate Gillam, Bremerton's head coach at the time, also resigned, which led to the hiring of current head coach Paul Theriault.
With his prayer fight thrust into the media spotlight, Kennedy connected with Liberty Institute of Texas and eventually sued Bremerton School District, challenging its prayer policy while fighting to remain as a coach on the football team. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in 2021 sided with the district, ruling that Kennedy's actions were not protected by the First Amendment because he was acting as a public employee when he prayed at the conclusion of games.
In 2022, the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling in favor of Kennedy while determining that his prayers were separate from his official duties as a coach and employee. Kennedy's lawyers and the district settled on $1,775,000 in attorney fees, which the district will pay out of the next three years. Kennedy returned to Bremerton's football program on the first day of preseason practice Aug. 16 in the role of a varsity/junior varsity assistant coach.
During Friday's game, Kennedy spent much of the time distancing himself from players and other coaches. When asked about the reason why, the coach chose his words carefully and said he was doing his job as he was instructed to do.
Moving forward, Kennedy said he expects to be back coaching at practice Monday, but didn't commit to remaining with Bremerton's staff for the remainder of the season.
"That's what I'm leaving up to God. We haven't even talked about it," said Kennedy, who was joined by his wife, Denise, during media interviews after the game. "Tonight was the milestone and where we wanted to get to. We fought eight years. What we asked for from the Supreme Court and all the courts was just to be able to be a coach and be able to pray after a football game. Both of those were accomplished and I've gotten what I asked for. Anything beyond that is just a plus and we're going to let God direct us and our family direct us."
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Joe Kennedy returns to field to coach, and pray, in Bremerton
