Mr. Helsdon is co-counsel for Coach Joe Kennedy, the former Bremerton High School football coach fired in 2015 for taking a knee on the 50-yard line after football games and praying silently and alone for a 15-30 second prayer.  As a result, Coach Kennedy brought a lawsuit against the Bremerton School District.  In it, Coach Kennedy has not prayed for money damages.  Instead, he has asked that the federal court order the school district to reinstate him as a coach and allow him to kneel and pray silently and alone for a 15-30 second prayer on the 50-yard line after high school football games. 

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Coach Kennedy’s petition to the Supreme Court to take up Kennedy v. Bremerton School District is set to be discussed at the Supreme Court’s conference on September 24, 2018.  Important First Amendment Free Speech and Free Exercise rights are at stake.  SCOTUSBlog lists Kennedy v. Bremerton School District as one of the “Petitions We’re Watching.”  The question presented to the Supreme Court is:

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Whether public school teachers and coaches retain any First Amendment rights when at work and “in the general presence of” students.

View the Supreme Court pleadings here.