The True Story of an Ex-Atheist Who Won a Monumental Victory for Prayer at the US Supreme Court

Joe Kennedy, the high school football coach who won a major Supreme Court victory in his battle to pray at the 50-yard line, has officially seen his harrowing story come to the big screen.

The film “Average Joe,” which hit theaters Oct. 11, focuses on Kennedy’s personal story as well as his journey of taking a “stand for God publicly” and “taking a knee in prayer after each game,” according to a synopsis.

The movie follows the release of Kennedy’s book last year, “Average Joe: One Man’s Faith and the Fight to Change a Nation.”

Both projects touch on Kennedy’s seven years in a volleying legal battle with the Bremerton School District in Washington state, which ultimately led to the 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District in June 2022 — a decision that upheld his right to pray after games, and found the government should not punish private religious acts like prayer.

“I wanted everybody to see from the beginning where I came from,” Kennedy told CBN News of the film. “Unwanted pregnancy, foster homes — all of that — the backstory, to see what led me to be the guy to stand up for what was right and what has happened since then.”

Watch Kennedy explain:

Kennedy’s life hasn’t been easy, as he was in the foster care system and struggled with anger during hi

s earlier years. Before prayer became his anchor, he was an atheist with little interest in anything eternal.

“It was really my wife,” he said of his journey into faith. “I was failing as a husband.”

Kennedy continued, “Everywhere I went, I seemed to just wreck people’s lives.”

Finding Jesus

Amid his past turmoil, his wife, Denise, who was a Christian, started to rub off on him. With Kennedy’s life “disintegrating” in front of him, he had to make a decision: to continue on the same destructive path — or embrace faith.

“I finally went to church with her and, as things were rapidly falling apart, I had no other place to turn, and I fell onto the altar, and I kind of made a deal with God,” Kennedy said. “I said, ‘God, if you give me my wife, I’ll give you my life.'”

That commitment stuck and transformed his marriage. Beyond that, it led Kennedy to tackle the years-long legal battle that eventually expanded religious rights for all Americans.

“I didn’t know [God] was really going to use my life like He did,” Kennedy admitted.

How Kennedy Became A Coach

The path that led to the Supreme Court battle was an intriguing one, with the central components taking form after Kennedy found himself entering high school athletics. Reflecting back on his passion for coaching teenagers, he said it was a “God thing.”

“I didn’t know anything about football,” he said. “I just got out of the Marine Corps. I didn’t want to do anything. I thought I was retired. I was out on a run one day and the athletic director … pulls up alongside and started a conversation with me, found out I was a Marine, and he said, ‘Have you ever thought about coaching?'”

At first, Kennedy said he wasn’t interested, but the athletic director kept pursuing him — something he now believes was likely divine intervention.

“Eventually, I watched the movie ‘Facing the Giants,’ and, those Kendrick guys … they put a hurting on my heart and God just spoke to me and said, ‘Hey, this is your calling,'” he said. “And that’s where it all came from, and I accepted the job of being a coach, and I took it right out of the movie to give God the glory after every game.”

His decision to pray on the 50-yard line after games became the impetus for his legal battle, specifically after he was told he could no longer do so.

“I couldn’t understand it,” Kennedy said of the prayer opposition. “Something so simple as a prayer, and I didn’t want to create waves with the school.”

The Sticking Point

Initially, he was told to stop praying with players, and so he complied and never prayed with his team again. But he didn’t stop his private prayer on the 50-yard line after games, and that became a sticking point for both parties.

“They told me I [could] no longer do that because people could still see me in public praying,” Kennedy said. “That’s where the rub came in. They finally gave me a letter of direction that said I needed to choose between my faith and my job, and I was going to be put on suspension until I complied with the school district’s policies.”

Kennedy continued, “That was a no-win situation. No American should have to choose between their faith and their job.”

After losing his job, the coach fought back and eventually won, ushering in a situation he believes is truly beneficial for all Americans.

“The great thing about the Supreme Court is they opened it up, and we have more religious liberty now than we ever had in the past 50 years,” he said.

Find out more about “Average Joe.”

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