SCOTUS to rule on religious liberty case after praying coach was fired: 'Fighting to protect the Constitution'

The Supreme Court is expected to unveil a highly anticipated opinion on religious liberty this week, after a former high school football coach was fired for praying on the football field. 

Former high school football coach Joe Kennedy and First Liberty Institute counsel Hiram Sasser joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" Sunday to discuss the upcoming ruling and how Sports Illustrated took aim at the veteran ahead of the announcement. 

"I spent 20 years in the Marine Corps fighting to protect the Constitution, and I think I'm still doing it right now," Kennedy told co-host Pete Hegseth. "If… Sports Illustrated or one of those guys want to meet me in the Octagon and have a fair fight, I'm all in, and they could write whatever they want about anything else."

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Sports Illustrated came under fire after it released a tweet saying a ruling in favor of Kennedy would be an "erosion" of American democracy. 

"Depending upon how it's written… this could… provide broad protection for not just public school employees, but public employees at large," Sasser said. "It could affect millions of Americans and their right to be able to share their faith in private settings or just simply to be able to just pray over their meals at lunchtime without being discriminated against."

The pair expressed their optimism about the likelihood the court will rule in favor of the former coach and hope that Kennedy may be back on the field for the upcoming football season. 

"We're really hopeful that coach is going to be able to win," Sasser said. "We asked for something pretty small, which is just that coach could be able to pray quietly by himself after the games.

"If we can win that, that would be fantastic, and get coach back out on the field for this coming season," he continued. 

The Supreme Court still has several opinions to release before summer recess begins. 

Bailee Hill is an associate editor with Fox News Digital. Story ideas can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.