The secular Left’s campaign to purge the public sphere of all religious practice suffered a major defeat Monday when the Supreme Court ruled that a public high school violated a coach’s First Amendment right to exercise his religion when it fired him for praying after a football game.

Joseph Kennedy had been a football coach at Bremerton High School for seven years when he invited an opposing football team to join him in prayer at the 50-yard line after a game. The opposing coach thought it was “cool” that Kennedy had invited another team to pray with him and approvingly mentioned the practice to the principal of Kennedy’s school.