freedom-of-speech first-amendment religion politics civil-rights
Effect of Kennedy v Bremerton on political speech
<p>Most media coverage of <em>Kennedy v. Bremerton</em> revolves around religious exercise and whether the school was hostile to it. However, the majority opinion holds that Kennedy's prayer was protected by both the Free Exercise <em>and</em> Free Speech Clauses.</p>
<p>This would seem to suggest nonreligious speech, such as political speech, may also be protected if delivered in a similar manner to Kennedy's prayers. To what extent does the ruling guarantee a teacher's a right to express political opinions?</p>
<p>For example, suppose a coach wanted to &quot;take a knee&quot; a la Kaepernick in protest of police brutality, or give a midfield land acknowledgment denouncing America's colonial past. Is it constitutionally permissible for the school district to prohibit this?</p>

<p>I don't think Kennedy v. Bremerton would have much effect, because there has been little question that governments cannot prohibit the expression of a political viewpoint. There have been a number of rulings based on the Establishment Clause which say that it is impermissible for the government to establish a particular religion, or religions in general, which has resulted in a struggle between the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, leading to a particular resolution in Kennedy v. Bremerton. I see nothing new in that opinion that bears on Free Speech. We can paraphrase the tail end of the holding in the opinion for any such future case: &quot;a government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a personal political expression, based on a
mistaken view that it has a duty to suppress political expressions <s>even as it allows comparable secular speech</s>. The Constitution neither
mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination&quot;. Since there is nothing that vaguely suggests that it is okay to suppress political expression, nothing fancy is required to conclude that the school cannot suppress political expression.</p>
