Be inspired to stand up for your God-given rights by watching AVERAGE JOE in theaters starting Friday, October 11th! From the producers of THE BLIND, and directed by Emmy Award winning Harold Cronk (God’s Not Dead, God’s Not Dead 2, Unbroken: Path to Redemption), this powerful movie serves as a tribute to the unwavering strength of faith and the human spirit. Starring Eric Close (“Nashville,” American Sniper, “Suits”) and Amy Acker (Ordinary Angels, “Person of Interest,” “Alias”).
Synopsis
High school football coach Joe Kennedy has always been a fighter. He had no other choice. Abandoned by his biological mother, Joe spent his childhood fighting through the cold realities of foster care and group-home life. At 18, he finally found a home for his warrior spirit: in the Marine Corps, where he served in the Gulf War. Following a distinguished career in the Corps, he returned home not realizing that his biggest battle was yet to come. After retiring from the Marines, Joe felt led by God to help coach high school football–where he could pour into a generation of young men the love and guidance he so desperately sought at that age. Retired, happily married, building into kids as a strong role model… it all was finally coming together for Joe. Until he prayed. Yep, Joe was fired. For praying. Silently. By himself. After the games.
Get your tickets NOW to see AVERAGE JOE, opening in theaters October 11th!
Background
Joseph Kennedy is a former football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state. He gained national attention in 2015 when he was fired as a result of his practice of praying on the field after every game, despite the school district’s orders to stop. What began as a simple gesture of faith and gratitude became a point of intense legal and societal contention. Kennedy argued that his actions were protected under the First Amendment. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor in 2022, stating that his post-game prayers were protected by the Constitution.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Coach Joe’s landmark case had significant implications for religious freedom rights in the United States. Here are several key impacts:
- Affirmation of Individual Religious Expression: The ruling reinforced the right of individuals to express their religious beliefs in public settings, including public schools, as long as it does not interfere with their official duties or coerce others into participating.
- Clarification of the Establishment Clause: The decision clarified the boundaries of the Establishment Clause, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. The Court found that Kennedy’s private prayers did not amount to government endorsement of religion, thus setting a precedent for similar cases.
- Balancing Act: The case highlighted the ongoing challenge of balancing the rights of individuals to freely exercise their religion with the need to maintain a separation between church and state in public institutions.
- Legal Precedent: This ruling could influence future cases involving personal religious expression in public spaces, potentially leading to more protections for individuals wishing to express their faith in similar contexts.
Overall, Kennedy’s case underscores the importance of protecting individual religious freedoms. The ruling impacts school teachers, coaches and employees nationwide, who are now free to live out their faith in public. Kennedy’s win overturned a prior ruling that harmed religious freedom for decades, and it also sets a major precedent going forward – giving millions of Americans more religious liberty than they’ve had in 50 years.
Now you can be inspired by the story of Coach Joe Kennedy’s fight for religious freedom on the big screen!
Buy tickets today to see AVERAGE JOE in theaters starting on October 11th!
Review
Many people have probably heard about the praying football coach who went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend his right to take a knee on the field. But not everyone knows who Joe Kennedy really is. This movie tells the whole story.
AVERAGE JOE is about a guy who’s been a fighter all his life, and it’s also a love story. This movie shares the unwavering romance of Joe and Denise Kennedy that began in grade school and continues today—despite both of them having experienced quite a few setbacks and complications along the way. That part of the story took me totally by surprise, but for this review I’m going to concentrate on Joe and the prayer controversy.
Joe was an angry child who got into a lot of fights and was expelled from school. He never felt like he belonged, and even his foster family gave up on him. At age 13, he was sent away to a Christian residential ranch for troubled boys, where one of the leaders counseled him and tried .
At age 18, Joe Kennedy joined the Marine Corps. There, discipline was drilled into him and he finally felt like he fit in, fueled by an uncommon fighting spirit and the grit to continue on when others quit. As a combat veteran, Joe learned first-hand the sacrifices that one must make to protect the liberties we cherish.
Following a 20-year career in the Marines, Joe became a football coach at Bremerton High School. When he took the job, Kennedy made a personal commitment to God. After every football game—win or lose—he would take a knee on the field to pray for his team and thank God for the opportunity to be a coach. I read an article where it said he got the idea after watching Facing the Giants, a Christian film about an underdog high school football team, although it doesn’t specifically mention this in the movie.
Funny thing is, no students, parents, or other coaches ever complained about Coach Joe! But as soon as the school district administration became aware of this practice, they barred him from participating in any type of public religious conduct while on duty. When in good conscience he couldn’t comply, Kennedy was let go from his job as assistant coach. Complicating matters, his wife Denise worked for the school district’s human resources department, and she was caught in the middle.
Joe’s rough childhood in foster care followed by 20 years in the Marine Corps was nothing compared to his biggest battle yet! Coach Joe Kennedy – once a Marine, always a Marine – took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. He had a duty to serve both God and country, and was willing to stand and fight for what’s right—especially the right to freely live out one’s faith.
Kennedy wasn’t one to back down simply because opposition came his way, and he retained First Liberty Institute as counsel. Joe and his wife Denise knew this battle for religious freedom, freedom of speech, and the rights of all Americans was one they would have to fight—no matter the cost. The AVERAGE JOE movie details his fight for his marriage, job, and religious freedom when the odds were stacked against him.
AVERAGE JOE is not really a football movie, and it’s not a legal drama movie, either. Neither football games nor courtroom scenes are prominently featured in this film. It’s simply the story of Joe Kennedy’s life, which was already full of enough drama to make a movie about! And on top of that, he just happened to be a coach who brought a case to the Supreme Court.
I found the movie to be a little jarring and confusing the way it jumps around at the beginning, with Joe and Denise talking to the camera amid flashbacks, but after a while I caught on to its style of storytelling, and I love the way the movie ends. Coach Kennedy is an inspiration to anyone who has a battle to fight, no matter what it is!
CAUTIONS: This movie is rated PG-13 for some thematic material and violence. It shows dysfunctional families with frightened children and scenes of domestic abuse. Joe and Denise both have painful pasts. However, it was Joe Kennedy’s hard childhood that helped prepare him to be strong for the battles he had to fight as an adult.
AVERAGE JOE would be a great date night movie as well as a great movie to see with your church group. Be inspired to stand up for what you believe in! Find your nearest theater and get your tickets for opening weekend: October 11-13!
Trailer
Stand for freedom by watching AVERAGE JOE, in theaters October 11th!
Website: www.AverageJoeMovie.com
Buy Tickets: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/average-joe
Giveaway
The sponsor is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky Homeschooling Teen reader! Simply leave a comment below for a chance to win. NOTE: This giveaway is limited to U.S. winners only, who haven’t already won another giveaway for this campaign. Winners will need to submit their full name and email address by 10/14. We will not be able to accept winners submitted after this date. (Comments are moderated, so please be patient for yours to show up if you haven’t commented before.)
Disclosure
Many thanks to AVERAGE JOE for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.
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It sounds like an interesting movie.
I like that it’s not a football or legal movie but a move about a man and his interesting life. Great review.
Thanks for the comment! Just wanted to let you know that you’re our winner! Check your email, you should have received your gift card today.
This sounds like a great movie.
I love that this man always stood up for what HE believed in. So inspiring!!!!