Separation Of Church and State takes a big hit

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“Some non-religious people can be just as unreasonable when they see people holding prayer circles as some religious people can be unreasonable when seeing gay couples holding hands.”

False equivalency.

Kids remain under coaches supervision until after post game reviews or activities have ended and parents pick them up.

Kids CHOOSE to do things all the time due to peer pressure and and wanting to go along with the crowd. In this case a trusted adult starts something that parents of the children found objectionable. You may not have an issue with the prayer but the parents did and should be respected on this matter.

The school did deal with the issue by suspending the coach. He then terminated his contract with the school and took it court.

Perhaps the coach wasn't holding high Mass, but when you kneel on the 50 yard line at the end of the game in front of stands of spectators on public school property, you are trying to make a point. He should have known that this may be an issue for school and parents but he did CHOOSE to have his moment with God at that specific time. Why couldn't he wait until everyone went home?

Who said I'm not religious? You just assume I'm not because I hold a different view on this matter. I just see religion as more a private thing. If you want to get together with people of the same faith and share that together, then more power to you. But, not everyone shares the same beliefs and that should be respected by all.

The Supreme Court ruled that former Bremerton (Washington) High School assistant football coach Joseph Kennedy was protected by the First Amendment in praying with his players at the 50-yard line after games.

"Joseph Kennedy lost his job as a high school football coach because he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet prayer of thanks. Mr. Kennedy prayed during a period when school employees were free to speak with a friend, call for a reservation at a restaurant, check email, or attend to other personal matters," Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the opinion. "Both the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect expressions like Mr. Kennedy's. Nor does a proper understanding of the Amendment's Establishment Clause require the government to single out private religious speech for special disfavor. The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.”

"Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic—whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head. Here, a government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a brief, quiet, personal religious observance doubly protected by the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment," the Supreme Court added in its opinion. "Mr. Kennedy is entitled to summary judgment on his First Amendment claims."

There you have it. Unless yours is a higher power than the Supreme Court of The United States, all your claims against Coach Joseph Kennedy are both null and void.

I am sure SCOTUS would not agree that because they decided on an issue further discussion on the said issue should stop.

What surprised me was that SCOTUS did not consider the football field government property. I am surprised they did not understand or want to understand that a teacher/coach's job often does not stop when the school bell rings or at the end of the day or when the game ends.

I have no idea what these students' religious beliefs are or if they felt intimidated. I can say this. Sports teams are just that teams. They tend to be more loyal to each other than in most other groups. They are more likely than the general public to go along with and back up a teammate even when they disagree with the teammate. Do you think suddenly two years ago all of them became Black Lives Matter supporters and supported boycotting the games? No, some did it despite disagreeing out of team solidarity. Some were happy to do it, others felt intimidated into doing it by peer pressure. Those were adults.

Fnord knows what being a part of a small minority is all about. At that time he did not know he was even in a minority because nobody knew about autism back then. That was horrible. I do not know if Fnord knows what being part of a small recognized minority is like. I do. Out of 1800 students in my hight school, 52 of us were Jews. The Christmas season was just that Christmas season. Unlike today when they have overdone things back in the 60s, there was no recognition of Hanukkah, no days off for the Jewish High Holy days, we had to be conspicuous by taking the days off. December was intimidating. Because of bullying, I did see bad intent when none was there. Was my reaction immaturity, yes, I was immature, I was a teenager.

My problems were with my peers, not authority figures because they were hyperaware. SCOTUS had just banned school prayer as a result of a suit brought by a parent in the school district bordering ours.