U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in former high school football coach's school prayer case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday grappled with the case of a former high school football coach who lost his job for praying at midfield immediately after games, in a legal fight that could redefine the limits of religious liberty in public schools.

Joseph Kennedy, an assistant coach of Bremerton High School's varsity football team and head coach of the junior varsity for seven years, said he had a commitment to God to take a knee and say a brief prayer after each game right at midfield. He initially prayed alone, but as time went on he was joined by some players.

When public school officials in Bremerton, Washington asked Kennedy to stop praying publicly, he refused. He was placed on leave and his contract was not renewed in 2015. Kennedy sued, and with the support of conservative activists, his case wound its way to the Supreme Court.

During an oral argument that stretched nearly double the allotted hour, the justices seemed divided along ideological lines. The court's three more liberal members compared Kennedy's prayers to the hypothetical prayers of other school officials, which would not be permitted.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor also questioned whether Kennedy's prayers were indeed private, or public spectacles.

«I don't know of any other religion that requires you to get at the 50-yard line, the place where postgame victory speeches are given,» Sotomayor asked. «What religion requires you to do it at that spot?»

Sotomayor later asked whether there would be any difference between Kennedy's actions and that of a teacher who decides to say a prayer in class immediately after the bell has sounded, even as students are approaching with questions.

Members of the court's six-member conservative majority, meanwhile, asked