Football coach at center of landmark court ruling will speak in Ringgold

Praying “Average Joe” Kennedy, the former Washington state public high school football coach whose on-field prayer received the blessing of the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark ruling, will speak at a Thursday evening fundraiser at the Colonnade in Ringgold.

Kennedy is a hero to educators and coaches, Greg Spradlin, the area leader for the Lookout Mountain chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, said by phone Wednesday.

The court ruling “returned some religious freedom to government — public educators — in that they can participate in silent prayer,” Spradlin said, adding, “We feel like we gained back some ground.”

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes said it works with students and coaches in the U.S. and beyond to develop their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The event Thursday evening is a banquet fundraiser for a chapter of the group that serves Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties. Full tables are too late to book, Spradlin said, but those who seek to attend can call 706-764-1954 to buy a ticket.

The widely told and much debated story of the event’s keynote speaker dates back to 2015, when a public school district in Washington state learned the assistant high school football coach had long been praying with students on the field and in the locker room.

Arguing his actions ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution, which limits the state establishment of religion, the district told Kennedy to stop praying in this way.

After he kept up his prayers and received another warning, Kennedy did not reapply for the job — he said the district indicated he would not be rehired — and then he sued.

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court’s six conservative justices said his public prayer in the middle of the field after games was protected by the First Amendment.

Some hailed the decision — one of a string made by the court recently expanding the place of religion in taxpayer funded contexts — as a landmark moment for public employees looking to exercise their religious freedom.

Critics, however, said the court was conflating coercive prayer with personal prayer, and overlooking the rights of public school students not to be pressured into a religious practice.

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, Kennedy resigned one game into the new high school season. A film, “Average Joe” is in the works. And he has kept on with his activism, giving speeches around the country and been promoting a new book, “Average Joe: One Man’s Faith and the Fight to Change a Nation.”

According to Spradlin, the title reflects the theme of Thursday’s talk.

“He took a stand,” Spradlin said. “He’s going to challenge those that attend, that one person can make a difference. And you don’t have to be this superhuman, or even have a huge platform. Because before the decision, no one really knew who Joe Kennedy was.”