OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
Washington state high school football coach Joe Kennedy has stepped down from his coaching job.
In 2015, Kennedy made headlines when he was fired from his coaching position because he prayed with his players at the 50-yard line after games.
Kennedy made headlines by fighting back and taking his legal battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Court ruled that his dismissal was unjust and mandated his reinstatement.
As a result, Kennedy returned to the coaching scene, taking on the role of an assistant coach at Bremerton High School just last week.
In a statement, Kennedy confirmed his resignation.
“He cited multiple reasons for his resignation including taking care of an ailing family member out of state,” a news release said.
“Kennedy delivered his resignation to the district earlier today,” it stated. (Trending: Why Joe Biden Must Be Impeached)
“I believe I can best continue to advocate for constitutional freedom and religious liberty by working from outside the school system so that is what I will do,” Kennedy explained.
“I will continue to work to help people understand and embrace the historic ruling at the heart of our case. As a result of our case, we all have more freedom, not less. That should be celebrated and not disrespected,” said Kennedy.
“As I have demonstrated, we must make a stand for what we believe in. In my case, I made a stand to take a knee.”
“I encourage all Americans to make their own stand for freedom and our right to express our faith as we see fit. I appreciate the people of Bremerton, the coaches, staff and especially the students and wish them all well. Bremerton will always be home,” he said. (Trending: Joe Biden Decides Whether to Wear A Mask Again)
Kennedy said in his resignation letter, “It is apparent that the reinstatement ordered by the Supreme Court will not be fully followed after a series of actions meant to diminish my role and single me out in what I can only believe is retaliation by the school district.”
Kennedy attributed his departure to health concerns involving his father-in-law.
His resignation occurred just one game into the season.
“I said ‘thank you’ probably 30 times.” and “I had no other words.”
“Tonight was the milestone and where we wanted to get to. We fought eight years. What we asked for from the Supreme Court and all the courts was just to be able to be a coach and be able to pray after a football game. Both of those were accomplished and I’ve gotten what I asked for. Anything beyond that is just a plus and we’re going to let God direct us and our family direct us,” he said.