Sports Illustrated Attacks Coach Who Prayed After Games

A high school football coach named Joe Kennedy sued the Bremerton Washington School District after being suspended and eventually fired for praying for 15 seconds on the football field after a game.

The left-wing monthly rag, Sports Illustrated, didn’t wait until the Supreme Court handed down their decision. They came out and slammed Mr. Kennedy and it’s pretty outrageous.

“He’s a human embodiment of a country that’s deeply divided – a religious movement that’s surging with momentum, even as organized religion becomes increasingly less popular. And, most of all, a powerful right-wing machine many say is employing a timeless division tactic: us vs. them.”

So, if Joe Kennedy prays for seconds before a game, the evil right-wing machine backing him is dividing Americans?

“All morphed a man’s unremarkable existence into an extraordinary one and imbued Kennedy with elusive, far-reaching purpose. He’s no longer just a man. He’s now a symbol, for what his supporters term “religious freedom.” To them, he’s a hero, David slaying an anti-faith Goliath.”

First Liberty is defending him.

“First Liberty has argued that attempts to stifle teaching creationism and sanctioned prayer in schools represent hostility to religion. Those opponents see the Kennedy case as the likely next step in what they describe as an “erosion” of the separation, their argument backed by other recent rulings: that “God” can remain in the Pledge of Allegiance, that the federal government can give money to faith-based schools, and that religious groups can discriminate based on their beliefs when hiring, Sports Illustrated wrote.

SI made a point of saying, “…the coach makes for an unlikely figurehead in these legal theatrics. He was aimless for most of his 53 years.”

“The main focus of Bishop’s article, though, seems to be to belittle coach Kennedy. Throughout the piece, Bishop constantly describes Kennedy as “aimless,” shiftless, and struggling to find meaning in his life, thereby coloring the coach as a nobody whose sudden fame earned as a result of this case makes him a joke of a human being. As if any of Kennedy’s life history makes any difference at all to the case that has brought him to the Supreme Court, Breitbart writes.

Bill O’Reilly discussed it on his show this evening, explaining how church and state comes down on the issue.

“OK, that term separation of church and state is not in the Constitution. This guy doesn’t know. Sports Illustrated doesn’t know. And by the way, the article is against Kennedy. It’s a screed against the man, who obviously is a man of faith and, I believe, sincere. But anyway, church and state comes down like this. The federal government cannot tell you how to believe in faith matters. And it cannot order you to be in any religion. Okay. So the federal government can’t tell you what to believe, and it cannot promote religion. Can’t. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pray in public. There’s no separation there. I’d be surprised if the Supreme Court doesn’t rule in Kennedy’s favor. But anyway, Sports Illustrated has now, like ESPN, has morphed sports into progressive politics. And like ESPN, it is suffering because of it,”

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