Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21-418_i425.pdf
Page Number: 53

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

13 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

“feeling  compelled  to  join  Kennedy  in  prayer  to  stay  con-
nected with the team or ensure playing time,” and that the 
“slow accumulation of players joining Kennedy suggests ex-
actly the type of vulnerability to social pressure that makes
the Establishment Clause vital in the high school context.” 
Id.,  at  1239.  The  court  rejected  Kennedy’s  free  exercise 
claim,  finding  the  District’s  directive  narrowly  tailored  to
its Establishment Clause concerns and citing Kennedy’s re-
fusal to cooperate in finding an accommodation that would 
be acceptable to him.  Id., at 1240. 

The Court of Appeals affirmed, explaining that “the facts
in the record utterly belie [Kennedy’s] contention that the 
prayer  was  personal  and  private.”    991  F. 3d  1004,  1017 
(CA9  2021).    The  court  instead  concluded  that  Kennedy’s 
speech  constituted  government  speech,  as  he  “repeatedly
acknowledged that—and behaved as if—he was a mentor,
motivational  speaker,  and  role  model  to  students  specifi-
cally at the conclusion of the game.”  Id., at 1015 (emphasis 
deleted).  In the alternative, the court concluded that Ken-
nedy’s  speech,  even  if  in  his  capacity  as  a  private  citizen,
was appropriately regulated by the District to avoid an Es-
tablishment Clause violation, emphasizing once more that 
this  conclusion  was  tied  to  the  specific  “evolution  of  Ken-
nedy’s  prayer  practice  with  students”  over  time.    Id.,  at 
1018.  The court rejected Kennedy’s free exercise claim for
the reasons stated by the District Court.  Id., at 1020.  The 
Court of Appeals denied rehearing en banc, and this Court 
granted certiorari. 

II 

Properly understood, this case is not about the limits on 
an individual’s ability to engage in private prayer at work. 
This case is about whether a school district is required to
allow one of its employees to incorporate a public, commu-
nicative display of the employee’s personal religious beliefs
into  a  school  event,  where  that  display  is  recognizable  as