The U.S. Supreme Court this morning will hear oral arguments in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a case brought by a public school football coach in Washington state who violated the religious freedom of students by pressuring them to join his public prayers at the 50-yard line at high school football games.
Americans United Vice President and Legal Director Richard B. Katskee will argue the case on behalf of the Bremerton School District. You can listen to the arguments live starting at 10 a.m. ET here. AU President and CEO Rachel Laser will lead a press conference in front of the court; you can watch the live stream starting at 9:15 a.m. ET on AU’s social media, including Facebook and Twitter. She will be joined by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led an amicus brief by Members of Congress; faith leaders, including clergy from Bremerton; and AU supporters.
For a good overview of the case, see this Church & State article. In addition, this article counters the false narrative in the case being promoted by First Liberty Institute, the legal group that is representing the coach.
This special section of AU’s website contains a host of other resources. You can watch media interviews about the case with AU President and CEO Rachel Laser and learn how to support the religious freedom rights of public school students. You can also educate yourself about the rights of students and parents in public schools with AU’s “Know Your Rights” guides.
This is a critically important case – a loss would dangerously erode a core
principle of our democracy. Americans United is protecting the right of students to be free from religious coercion in public schools. Defending secular public education that welcomes all students, religious and nonreligious alike, has been a core part of AU’s mission since our founding 75 years ago, and we have no intention of letting up.
And don’t forget, AU Vice President of Strategic Communications Andrew Seidel will be live-tweeting during the argument starting at 10 a.m. EDT. Follow him at AU’s Twitter account here.
