Supreme Court rules in favor of praying coach in religious liberty case
Former high school football coach Joe Kennedy and First Liberty Institute CEO Kelly Shackelford joined 'The Faulkner Focus' to discuss the ruling and his eagerness to return to the field.
No one expects to be fired when following the directives of their superiors. But that’s exactly what happened to Fire Chief Ron Hittle when the global leadership conference he attended was considered by the city of Stockton, California, to be a "religious event."
After 24 years of protecting the lives and property of his community, Chief Hittle was fired not for disobeying orders but for his religious faith and activities.
This week, attorneys with First Liberty Institute, Baker Botts LLP, and the Church State Council urged a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to reverse a lower court decision that allowed Stockton to fire Chief Hittle.
After 24 years of protecting his community, Stockton Fire Chief Ron Hittle was fired not for disobeying orders but for his religious faith and activities. (iStock)
After being told by city officials to "improve the leadership skills of his staff members," Chief Hittle considered his options and selected a conference he believed would be most beneficial and satisfy the objectives of his superiors. In a pure act of religious discrimination, Stockton officials treated Chief Hittle as if he broke the law simply because the conference was held in a church. The only law broken was the firing of Chief Hittle for exercising his religious freedom.
SUPREME COURT RESPECTED RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN 2022, BUT WILL IT IN 2023?
The conference he and three other Stockton Fire Department officers attended was the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, which included speakers with a diverse cross-section of expertise. The high-profile business and religious leaders speaking included Jim Collins, nationally acclaimed business thinker; Tony Dungy, winning coach of 2007 Super Bowl; Daniel Pink, best-selling author and business thinker; T.D. Jakes, chief pastor of The Potter’s House; and Jack Welch former CEO of General Electric.
Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy was among the leadership conference speakers. (Icon Sportswire)
Chief Hittle and his accompanying staff paid for admission to the conference from their own funds. They attended to glean valuable insights from renowned experts to fortify their leadership roles for the good of the city of Stockton and the people they served. Even though federal law protects the rights of every American to live without fear of employment termination for religious beliefs, the city of Stockton ignored that law.
Attendance at the so-called "religious event" was specifically mentioned in the notice of termination issued by the city to Chief Hittle. The city’s investigator determined it was one of Chief Hittle’s "most serious acts of alleged misconduct." The city’s action was a clear violation of federal law that "prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin."
The decision by the city of Stockton to terminate Chief Hittle for attending this "religious event" not only violates his religious liberty rights under the U.S. Constitution, it is also a denigrating assessment of the input from the leadership experts at the conference.
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The mere fact that the content shared by both secular and religious leaders occurred in a church setting does not render the leadership principles invalid. The venue for a conference, whether a church, synagogue, mosque, civic auditorium, hotel ballroom, or a high school gymnasium, does not alter the value or integrity of a global leadership conference that for 25 years has been attended by both religious and non-religious people from around the world.
Federal law protects the freedom of every American to live without fear of being fired simply because of their beliefs. Chief Hittle clearly fulfilled the directives of his superiors when he attended the leadership summit, but was fired anyway.
Now it’s time for the courts to recognize that religious discrimination in the workplace like that displayed by Stockton, California, cannot stand.
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