Football Coach Fired for Praying Fights Back

The Washington State high school football coach fired last year for praying after games is filing a lawsuit against the Bremerton School District.

Coach Joe Kennedy is represented by the national non-profit law firm First Liberty Institute.

"Citizens who work for government are not banned from praying. That's not the law. That's religious hostility and discrimination," Mike Berry, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, says.

"The Hardest Thing I've Been Through." Watch Coach Kennedy's story:

Kennedy is not asking for monetary damages, he's simply requesting the school reinstate him.

"When the school district fired me, I was devastated," Coach Kennedy said. "I really hope that the school district will give me my job back so I can get back to doing what I love most: coaching my players."

Kennedy's attorneys say the school district violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise.

In December, Kennedy filed a charge of religious discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In June the U.S. Department of Justice issued Kennedy a right-to-sue letter.