There is now a movie about the praying Bremerton football coach
Less than a year after Joe Kennedy returned to Bremerton High School to coach football and pray on the field, a bio film about the seven-year controversy is already in the can and heading to movie screens this October.
"I've been fighting my whole life ... so if you told me that saying a prayer on the 50-yard line is a thing that was going to get me into the biggest fight of my life, you cannot tell me that God doesn't have a sense of humor," the main character states in the trailer for "Average Joe."
RELATED: Department of Education updates guidance on public school prayer
The recently released trailer also comes less than a year after Kennedy's memoir was published, which the film is based on.
In 2015, Kennedy garnered headlines when he refused to stop praying with students on the 50-yard line after Bremerton High School football games. Some players voiced concerns to district officials, reporting that they felt pressure to join in on the prayers to be in good standing with the coach and get play time. Kennedy has insisted that praying with him was never mandatory and no one felt pressured.
Still, the school district became concerned about any potential pray-to-play dynamic and other lines that could be crossed.
Kennedy was asked to pray privately. That briefly settled the issue, but Coach Kennedy eventually returned to the field with students after each game. He was placed on paid administrative leave, and eventually opted not to reapply for the job the following year (contrary to some reports, Kennedy was never fired from the job). At the same time, the issue spurred local pushback and arguments over religious freedoms. Satanists showed up to make a point. Pro-prayer groups flooded the stands and reportedly knocked over marching band members as they jumped on the field. The team's head coach was harassed and reported that he feared someone in the crowd could shoot him.
RELATED: What does Kennedy v. Bremerton mean for how schools handle religious speech?
The First Liberty Institute, an activist organization focused on religious issues, elevated the matter to the courts and filed a lawsuit in 2016. After multiple courts sided with the school district, the case traveled all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled in the coach's favor in 2022.
In summer 2023, Kennedy was rehired to coach football in Bremerton, and was back on the field for a game September 1. While he was certain that he would pray on the 50-yard line after the game, Kennedy was tightlipped about his long term plans. Before the game, he told KUOW, “The only thing I asked for is to be a coach and to be able to pray after a football game. And I’ve been waiting eight years for that moment and that’s Friday. After that, I’m sure God will give me some kind of insight into what’s next, but I’m leaving that on His plate instead of mine.”
Kennedy reportedly kept his distance from other coaches and players during his return game. Days later, Kennedy published a statement on his website (where you can also buy Joe Kennedy merch and book him for events), which announced that he was resigning from the job a second time. He stated he felt that he could make a difference by working outside the school system. The next month, his memoir hit bookstore shelves.
Stephanie Katz is not only credited with penning the new film, she also cowrote Kennedy's memoir, released in October 2023.
"Average Joe" brings in actor Eric Close to play the title role of "coach." Viewers may recognize Close from an array of TV roles spanning "Law and Order" to "Suits" and "American Horror Story." He played a lead character in "Without a Trace" for seven years. TV nerds may also recognize his wife, played by actress Amy Acker, aka Fred on "Angel." The film is directed by Harold Kronk, who directed 2014's Christian drama "God's Not Dead."
