Join us for a powerful evening featuring Average Joe, the film based on Coach Joe Kennedy’s inspiring story of faith and perseverance. After the screening, Coach Joe Kennedy himself, along with First Liberty President & CEO kelly shackelford, will join us live for a Q&A on their journey and the fight for religious liberty in America.

Dinner is provided, and admission is completely free—don’t miss this incredible night!

Coach Joe’s Story

School officials at Bremerton High School (BHS) suspended—and later fired—football coach Joe Kennedy because he prayed a brief, quiet prayer after football games. A lawsuit was filed against the school district, arguing that banning coaches from quietly praying, just because they can be seen by the public, is wrong and violates the Constitution. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and then the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sided with the school district. The case eventually landed in the U.S. Supreme Court. In January 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and ruled in favor of Coach Joe!

About Kelly Shackelford

Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq. is President and CEO of First Liberty Institute and a nationally recognized constitutional scholar. He has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, testified before Congress, and secured major religious liberty victories in landmark cases such as American Legion v. American Humanist Association, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, Carson v. Makin, and Groff v. DeJoy. In 2025, President Donald J. Trump appointed him to the Religious Liberty Commission, a body of top experts tasked with assessing the state of religious freedom and recommending policies to strengthen it. First Liberty, under Shackelford’s leadership, is the only nonprofit legal organization of its kind represented on the Commission.

Widely recognized for his legal leadership, Shackelford has been named one of the 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the past quarter century by Texas Lawyer and is a recipient of the William Bentley Ball Award for Life and Religious Freedom Defense. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society, has been featured in major national publications, and formerly taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas. A Baylor University and Baylor Law School graduate, he finished law school with the highest unadjusted GPA in his class, laying the foundation for his career defending religious liberty at the highest levels.