Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21-418_i425.pdf
Page Number: 45

Cite as:  597 U. S. ____ (2022) 

5 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

Photograph of J. Kennedy standing in group of kneeling players. 

room  prior  to  games,  before  Kennedy  was  hired,  but  that
Kennedy subsequently began leading those prayers too. 

While the District’s inquiry was pending, its athletic di-
rector  attended  BHS’  September  11,  2015,  football  game
and told Kennedy that he should not be conducting prayers 
with  players.    After  the  game,  while  the  athletic  director
watched,  Kennedy  led  a  prayer  out  loud,  holding  up  a 
player’s helmet as the players kneeled around him.  While 
riding  the  bus  home  with  the  team,  Kennedy  posted  on 
Facebook that he thought he might have just been fired for 
praying.

On September 17, the District’s superintendent sent Ken-
nedy a letter informing him that leading prayers with stu-
dents  on  the  field  and  in  the  locker  room  would  likely  be
found  to  violate  the  Establishment  Clause,  exposing  the 
District to legal liability.  The District acknowledged that