Trump says firing Bremerton coach for praying on field is 'very sad and outrageous'

HERNDON, Va. – Donald Trump came to the defense Monday of former Bremerton High football coach Joe Kennedy, who was fired after praying on the field after games.

“The world is changing; you’re not allowed to pray before a football game,” Trump said while speaking at an event in Virginia. “I thought it was horrible.”

Kennedy was in the crowd, and Trump asked him for his version of events.

“They just really slammed me on it and said what a horrible person I was, and ended up just not renewing my contract, so ultimately firing me,” Kennedy said from the crowd.



Trump responded that it was “very, very sad and outrageous.”

“It’s about religious liberty,” Trump said. “And it has to be a melding a both. We’re living in a time where there you have to have a melding of both.

“But we’re living in a time where it’s very unfair what they’re doing to religious liberty in this country.”

On Monday, Kennedy's lawyers also filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, looking to reverse a district court's decision that refused Kennedy an injunction that would've allowed him to resume his job while his case is litigated.