Former Washington say high school soccer trainer Joe Kennedy dropped his job over five years back for praying about the area after every match, but his continuing unemployment and an elongated legal battle aren't sufficient to dissuade the former Marine from his struggle for religion .
While training at Bremerton High School, Kennedy began kneeling alone at a quiet, 15-second prayer in the 50-yard line in the finish of every match. He had been suspended and later fired in 2015 for refusing to halt the general public clinic.
Kennedy, a retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who failed a combat tour through Operation Desert Storm, established an aggressive legal conflict, asserting the Bremerton school district violated his constitutional rights of free expression and spiritual liberty.
"The First Amendment really means much to mepersonally," Kennedy told"America Reports" on Monday,"and it's actually awful today in America that someone could be fired only for expressing their religion. I am simply fighting so that nobody else ever has to go through this and does not need to choose between their job and their religion."
The Supreme Court also declined to take his case this past year, however, the self-described"fighter" and his lawyer expect to"get him back to the sidelines coaching when possible" with a charm.
"Each time that I took the oath of enlistment it actually meant something to me personally," he told Fox News' Sandra Smith. "Supporting and defending the Constitution, it makes my hair stand up only now even stating it, and I'm a fighter. I've always been a fighter.
"That is why I joined the Marines. I wished to be part of the fighting drive, and that I may also function here in doing so conflict at this time. It is a very long struggle, but I'm here for this."
"If they rule against us" his attorney told Fox News,"we're ready to bring it into the U.S. Supreme Court if we must."
