I'm just surmising it was probably the community that rallied around you, and it
was the community against this school district and the outside world. Yeah, and
even farther than that, it was almost the whole United States came against the
school district for just being so ridiculous about this, their email system, their
servers or phone lines and faxes with the outbour saying, you guys are crazy.
Let this guy do his prayer and leave him alone so we can just
continue on with life. Welcome to the Other Dewsuge edition of The Chicks on
the Right Show. Very very excited to have with a special guest, Coach
Joe Kennedy, who is a twenty year marine vet former high school football coach,
and he is a person who took on cancel culture, fought for his
freedom of expression and religion and one. And he is the author of Average
Joe, a book that is available now. And for those folks in our
audience who may not be familiar with your story, Coach, there's probably no
one better to tell it than you, So if you wouldn't mind giving folks
who are unfamiliar with your story sort of a timeline of events and let people
know what you fought and the battle that you won, and just will see
where the conversation takes us after that. Sure, well, it actually for
my book and my whole life. It started from an unwanted pregnancy. So
I was an unwanted kid, and from early in the womb, I didn't
know what my life would planned. From everything, I thought, nobody ever
wanted me, and I was an outcast everywhere. I was put into the
foster you know foster system, group homes, boys homes, and kind of
had a rough childhood and I really didn't know what I wanted to do.
I knew I was a fighter, and I just basically just wanted to just
be angry at the world. It wasn't until I probably got old enough where
I started to realize that I needed to do with my life, and I
joined the military and I found a place to put that anger. And you
know, the military is a great place because they kind of pay you to
fight, which is a really good thing for me. It's Christmas and holiday
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dot com slash chicks and yeah, though I served for twenty years in the
military, I got to go to Desert Storm and serve in combat and serve
my country. Found out what my love was for my country. And that's
where I guess my love for the Constitution really originated from why it means so
much to me. When I got out of the Marine Corps, I met
up with my childhood sweetheart and kind of got to the whole God thing and
he took over my life from there. And next thing I know, I'm
coaching high school football and I started praying on the fifty yard line. It
was my commitment with God and just to say a simple prayer of thanks after
a football game. And that went on for eight years. And in our
eight season it started becoming a problem with the school district and it turned into
a big, ugly lawsuit and ended up having to go through eight years of
battling in the court systems to the Supreme Court twice and eventually ended up winning
in the Supreme Court, but it took eight years to get there. So
I guess that's a wrap up of everything. So why do you think it
became a problem as the years went on. Do you think that's just a
symptom of our culture, because it's interesting that you say that it took eight
years for them to find a problem with that when you were a coach for
that long, right, And it wasn't that they were against me or anything
like that. So these people are my friends. We've worked together for almost
a decade. My wife worked for the school district for about fifteen years,
and you know, we spent holidays together, we went to church together.
So these people were not my enemies, and you don't want to just get
rid of me. They actually started everything from it was a compliment. Somebody
saw what we were doing and gave a compliment to our school. Well,
of course with any compliment, they want to find out what the basis of
it was and wanted to make sure we were following in line with the school
district, because they have one policy that said you cannot encourage nor discourage kids
in prayer, and we were following that to the tea. But by then
you have these hate groups that want to get rid of all religion in the
public square, and they got ahold of it and started representing the school district
and boom. Next thing, you know, we have this council culture and
they want to just move it, and it started the big war, and
they just it was so much easier for the school district just to remove it
than to actually stand up for something. So they basically just folded to this
group. So just to be clear, though, because as I understand it,
you never asked a student to join you. This was something that you
were doing on your own, and then other students saw you and wanted to
participate, and so this was completely voluntary. You were not requiring your players
to participate at all. This was just something that you felt compelled to do,
and so did they. And so why someone from the outside decided to
have a big, fat problem with that, I cannot fathom. Yeah,
they started making up stories of fabricating. As you read the transcript through the
court cases, they came up with a different story every time. And they
started the things of all the kids. The kids felt pressured and they couldn't
play if they didn't pray, and nobody I talked to everybody. I said,
you know, find a kid that felt pressure or I even asked because
if as far as I'm concerned, if I told the kid he had to
pray, then that's just as bad as telling them that they can't pray.
It was totally voluntary. And then taking a step further. Once the school
district told me that I needed to stop praying with the kids, I immediately
did. I didn't pray with my team ever again. Yet they continue to
come after me because they could still see me praying even though I was alone.
Oh my gosh, this is like totally outrageous. So it became more
of a thing where it was like the outside of the school. It wasn't
your kids, And I imagine that the people in the community probably rallied around
you, and so it really was, in essence, not just you,
but it was probably the community. I'm just surmising it was probably the community
that rallied around you, and it was the community against the school district and
the outside world. Yeah, and even farther than that, it was almost
the whole United States came across or came against the school district for just being
so ridiculous about this. I mean, praying on a football field is nothing
new. It wasn't something I originated. This has been going on in sports
long before any of us were born. Since sports had been originated, so
the whole idea of that this was some kind of new thing that I started.
But there were a huge outrage in our community, this school, my
team, the parents of my kids, and everybody around you. It was
so so incredible to see the outreach across the entire world against the school district
saying are you guys crazy? They shut down their their email system, their
servers, their phone lines and faxes with the outpoor saying you guys are crazy.
Let this guy do his prayer and leave him alone so we could just
continue on with life. So it was amazing to see the outpour of support
in my favorite. Yeah, it's really it's really weird because I watched the
other day, I was watching Hoosiers. I'm sure you've seen the movie Hoosiers
because we're both Miriam and I are both from Indiana and so it's like a
basketball thing. But the movie Hoosier is in there. In that movie,
right before they go out and they play the big game, well really most
games, but right before they went out and they played the big game,
they had the preacher come in and pray with them. And they always had
a preacher with them, and they prayed before the game, and this was
just something that was ingrained in us. We're both gen xers, and I
obviously I don't know how old you are, but I feel like you're probably
probably right. And I just feel like, growing up, that's what we
knew and we're straying so far from that philosophy, from that culture, and
I don't like it. I just don't like how we're moving in another,
a completely different direction, like people are just they're so I don't like that.
I don't want it. I don't. But that's how we grew up.
We grew up with just the notion of that's what you did before a
game. That's what that's what schools did, that's what people did, that's
what our communities are the nation, that's what we did. And so it
just is it's foreign to me that people would be like, oh my gosh,
we can't have that, and so we can't have that at games,
and it's just and plus I live in Texas. I feel like in Texas
we do we still do that at least in most part. Absolutely. Well,
you think about the way that those country originally started and how far we've
fallen from that, all the way to our generation. So each generation we've
blots a little bit and a little bit and a little bit. So this
is where we are today. So it's because people are just not stood up
for the rights and have lit to let little things slide, you know,
and let things go by. So how did you get connected with First Liberty,
the law firm that represented you throughout this whole thing? How did how
did that connection get made? Did they did they come to you? Did
you find them? How did that all work? It was that it's stranger
than than reality. Then it was it's so hard to believe. So I
didn't want to talk to anybody, especially to lawyers. I figured we could
work this all out on our own where adulties are friends. We could work
this all out. And then when I realized that their lawyers were just beating
me up over this, and I didn't know what to do. I had
a friend of a friend, which is so ridiculous, that happened to be
at a law conference with First Liberty, and God just put it all together
all at once. So all these coincidences were happening and it just led to
the perfect thing. They gave me a call and said, hey, I'm
a friend of this guy who was a friend of your friend. It was
so funny and I'm so obscure, and I said, well, if you're
a friend of my friend, I'll give you a try. And we talked
and the first thing they asked is you're not one of those religious whack jobs,
are you? And I just started laughing and I was like, oh,
if you think that, I mean, I was expecting that's what they
were looking for. I'm like, I'm so far from that. If that's
what you're looking for, I'm not the right guy. You know, I'm
a train wreck, man. I'm just trying to figure out my own life
and my relationship with God. So no, I'm not the big religious dude.
And they said, yeah, we'll take your case. And so yeah,
it was a great relationship. And there's still my friends even to today
now that they're not even representing me. I consider these guys just family and
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take the whole the whole process of sewing or a guest counter sewing or whatever
it ended up being, like, how long till you ultimately got that verdict
that you know what you need to be reinstated at the school and you're perfectly
welcome to prey on the field as much as you want. It was eight
years and nine football seasons before I stepped back onto the field. Oh my
god, gosh. And then you did right like you went back, but
now you're no longer there. I can't imagine what it was like to go
back at Yes, I know that's what I was wondering too, Like what
was that like for you to go back? And eight years? Oh my
goodness. Yeah, these kids were in grade school that I walked onto the
field with this time, and I knew the school wasn't going to be happening
with me coming back. And you know, you know, as you say
in Texas, you know, and bless those guys for you know, having
me back. And yeah, they did. The football team coaches, they
did as best as they could dealing with it. They were under an immense
amount of pressure and didn't want to be part of this. But the school
district they were. They were acting very childish and did a bunch of,
you know, things that you would expect, you know, three year olds
to be doing with their tantrums. But it was best that I did go.
I faced my giant. I was true to my word because the only
thing I asked for was to be able to be a coach and to be
able to pray after a football game. I accomplished those two things, and
I feel like I ran the race. I finished the race, and I
remain faithful throughout, and now I could just move on with my life in
the school district, to move on with theirs, and we could all live
happily ever after hopefully. Yeah, good for you, Good for you.
So then you decided to write the story? I mean that was your next
step? Or how did this? Like, how did that happen that you
wrote your story after experiencing all that? And is that your path? Now?
Are you going to be doing book tours? Are you going to be
doing speaking engagements? Like? Where are you going to coach again? Yeah?
Well, I don't know where God has me to go next. I've
been a servant my whole life. I've always liked to serve, you know,
from the early age. You know, when I was in the military,
I found that that was my calling to serve, especially when I was
the coach. I found out that my calling was to work with people and
to help other people. And so I don't know what my future holds.
We started writing actually a screenplay for a movie. Way back when it first
started. Somebody heard my testimony and he got all excited. It's the guys
that did the movie God's Not Dead, and they got excited and said,
wow, this sounds like a movie. So they started writing a screenplay.
And as time went on, I was like, yeah, sure, sure,
there's going to be a movie about it. And then I started catalytic
blogging all the different things that happened in my life. As I was telling
my story over and over, and people were like, this needs to be
shared. So we actually wrote a book because most people only read the headlines
and they don't understand who the person was behind all this and why I stood
up as long as I did. Over really, this was a principle of
the matter. It wasn't really a huge religious thing for me. This was
a constitutional thing, and it was a principle of it that you can't tell
people in America that they can't stand up for their fundamental rights as Americans.
And that's and it was something so simple as a prayer, a thirty second
prayer. Yeah, it would have been so easy just to give up on
that and to go along and remain a coach. Yes, I totally agree.
And I didn't want a big lawsuit to go to the Supreme Court and
costs millions of dollars. It would have been so much easier for everybody if
I would have done that. But it was the principle of it. And
I want people to understand why the principle of it mattered, and why it
especially mattered to me as as a marine, and where I came from in
my in my past of being a fighter, and hell that I've been prepared
my whole life to take on these kind of fights. Is you know,
kind of the underdog to win these battles or to take on these battles.
Yeah, this is perhaps the most important question that you're going to have to
answer, and that is who is going to play you in the movie?
Do you want to play you? Is it George, George Clooney, brack
God, No any idiot could play me. That was That was the biggest
thing. I was like, do not spend money on that. You need
to make sure the one who's playing my wife. That's the important one in
my book. And you know, anybody, right, wife is like,
Okay, who's it going to be? Your wife is like, Okay,
We're got to think of like the most awesome actress to play me, because
that's what I would be doing if I were your wife, I'd be like,
Okay, who's it gonna be. It's gotta be like the most gorgeous,
wonderful actress to play me. Yeah, exactly. So we actually finished
filming about a month ago. For the movie, we kind of kept that
under wraps. Yeah, So, I don't know if you ever watched there
it is. I don't know if you ever watched the show suits the Netflix
series. And but Eric Close is the guy who's playing me, and he's
been in a bunch of things, but that's where I knew him from.
And Amy actor is playing Denise and my wife Denise, and yeah, so
we got to be on the scene, gotta watch him shoot a bunch of
bunch of it. They gotta, we gotta sit down with those guys,
and they wanted to be really true to us. That's what was really important
to us. We didn't want them to make this a big Hollywood you know
thing where it wasn't, you know, a true story. We wanted them
to really go by what who we are and not make it a big fluff
story, you know kind of thing. So did they like study your mannerisms
and stuff like that, that he follow you around and like watch how you
drink your coffee and stuff like that. Well, mine was you know,
how I slug a red bull. After he spent like two hours with me,
he goes, I'm so simple. He goes, yeah, Eric goes,
I think I got you man, And I was like, I told
you, mine was easy. But it was great that they spent amy spent
so much time with my wife and all the other people that were writing Denis's
character spent a lot of time and really developed her character. Because everything's been
written about me in this, you know, in the book and interviews and
stuff, so they had me down pat. But they wanted to tell Denise's
story because I think her story is a thousand times better than mine. She
was the HR director. Yeah, she was the HR director for the school
district that I sued, So, you know, she had to fire me.
I had to sue her. You know. So there's a huge story
behind the story. Yeah yeah, oh mys just crazy. That's what this
is. Like the best trailer, you know, the best preview of a
movie ever. Yeah. Sure, And if the book is anything like it,
then that's that. It's definitely a reason that people should buy it.
Your Your Fight is so important. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it has
had the national impact on other school systems. So for example, just this
past when was it Amy Joe was like over the summer it was a nice
summer. Yeah, my son's because he's a high school lacrosse player and his
coach passed away unexpectedly in a car accident and it was horrible. And that
same night that the news broke there there were a bunch of people parents,
all the people who knew and loved him, wanted to have a candlelight vigil
at the field and they had invited a pastor to come and you know,
participate in that. And the school said no, that the vigil was fine,
but that it was not going to be allowed to have a pastor give
any kind of prayer, because that would make it non inclusive. And so
it was so and I was like, but that's like the literal definition of
a vigil, you know what I mean, Like it is to is to
is to honor the person who's passed with prayer. And so it just was
it was mind boggling to me that this is something that obviously is still an
issue across the country, across schools. So even though you won your fight,
there's a lot of work to be done. What would you tell other
people about your fight and what they can learn from it. Oh, and
that's a huge thing because they had every right to have a pastor or priest
anybody to do that circuit. And and that's the sortiest part of America is
that we've been under the assumption for the past fifty years and what this whole
thing of separation in church and state. And number one, it's not in
the constitution. Everybody's been under the assumption because of this bad case law,
which is boring is all get out, But it's they've just understood that the
separation in church and state means a certain thing and that's not what it was
ever designed to mean, and it's supposed to be where if people are protected,
where the state cannot come in and attack the church, which it's been
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code chicks at checkout Omaha Steaks dot com. So everybody does have the right
to express themselves in America and it's live and well. Our religious freedom is
intact. The First Amendment means exactly what it says that we do have the
freedom of speech, the freedom of the exercise, and the freedom of religion,
where those all work in conjunction with each other. They're not opposing.
So if you go to First Liberty Institute, you go to a First Liberty
Institute dot org. You can get there. They have a little working kit
that tells you what your rights are as an American, and just get people
educated, get involved in your churches and your schools and find out what they're
teaching and what they're saying, and we can go and educate our system since
they try to keep these things secret from people, and it's so much easier
to keep people ignorant than it is to actually teach people today of what the
rights are. Such a good message and aim that. Yeah, I mean
your story is super inspiring and you've obviously made a huge difference. Where can
people pick up a copy of your book and how do they connect with you?
Yeah, so it's nothing really original. So the average Joe is my
book. The movie is going to be Average Joe. Can imagine that.
You can pick it up on Amazon, you can pick it up Barnes and
Noble and wherever books are sold. And yeah, and you can get a
hold of me on It's not nothing original again, coach Joe Kennedy dot com.
And yeah, I think it's a great read where where it keeps people
very entertained. You might laugh, cry and be mad at me at times,
and really should inspire people to get off their butts and say, if
this guy can do it, imagine what God can do with me. Love
it. I love it that I can't wait to read and then and then
see the movie looks un Fortunately, it's been a light talking to you.
Thanks so much. You all are awesome. Thank you so much. We'll
talk to you guys