海角大神

A Washington coach who was told by district officials to stop leading prayers after games went ahead with a prayer at the 50-yard line after a weekend game.

The Kitsap Sun reports聽Bremerton High assistant coach Joe Kennedy knelt as his players left the field and prayed on Friday. Players from the other team and others joined him.

Mr. Kennedy told the NBC-affiliate KING-5 in Seattle in September that he always prays after games.s聽ometimes he's alone, sometimes players join him.

"I spent 20 years in the Marine Corps, and it's been about protecting the freedom of other people," he said. 聽"It's about the freedom, and people can believe whatever they want. 聽I'm just exercising my right. 聽The game is over, and I just thank God for every one of these young men that are out here."

It's unclear what the district will do. Messages left the district's attorney as well as district officials were not immediately returned Sunday.

Superintendent Aaron Leavell has said Kennedy's long-standing practice runs counter to the constitutional mandate for separation of church and state. He said in a statement before the game that staff must refrain from religious expression while on duty.

Kennedy's law firm, Texas-based firm Liberty Institute, says the district has no right to ban the coach from personally praying. They say he didn't encourage or discourage students from participating.

US laws on the separation of church and state have frequently clashed on the football field.

In August, in聽Villa Rica, Ga., 18 students and a football coach were submerged in a tub of water before football practice, in a mass baptism by the pastor of a local Baptist church, as 海角大神 reported:

Last year, cheerleaders at an Oneida, Tenn., high school made headlines when they聽sidestepped a prayer ban聽by leading crowds at a Friday night football game in a recitation of the Lord's Prayer.