3 Reasons You Should Watch Average Joe, the Film about a Coach Fired for Praying
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Oct 10, 2024
Joe is a humble high school coach with an unassuming demeanor and a heart for his football players.
He wants them to learn kindness. He wants them to learn respect. Most importantly, he wants them to stand up for what's right.
Perhaps that's one reason Joe is unashamed to walk after each game to the 50-yard line, where he kneels quietly and says a quick, silent prayer, thanking God for his blessings. In his view, he's committed to giving thanks to God after every game, whether it's a win or a loss.
Before long, Joe's players began joining him in prayer. Not long after, players from opposing teams also gathered to pray at midfield.
But then Joe's bosses within the school receive a complaint. And then they tell him to stop kneeling in prayer. They don't mind if he prays out of sight. They just don't want him praying where everyone can see.
"They want me to hide as if I'm committing some sort of crime," he tells his wife.
Will Joe comply?
The new movie Average Joe (PG-13) tells the true story of Joe Kennedy, a football coach in Washington state whose faith-driven defiance sparked a lawsuit and made national headlines. Kennedy -- as you may already know -- continues to kneel in prayer. He was fired, but eventually, he won. His story encouraged countless Christians around the world.
Here are three things you should know about the film.
Photo Credit: ©GND Media Group
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1. It's the Inspiring Story You Know and the Backstory You Don't
Slide 1 of 3Average Joe is a compelling underdog story with an unexpected, gripping plot that takes you back to Kennedy's childhood, revealing the experiences that shaped his resilience and gave him the courage to stand up for God and challenge the establishment.
The film opens with Kennedy as a troubled child who loathes school and frequently gets into fights, a behavior that leads to him being bounced from one foster home to the next. ("I wish we had never adopted him," one foster parent says.) Tragically, he is beaten, too. (That takes place off-screen, but we see him with a bloodied face). Thankfully, Kennedy eventually lands in a loving home with a father who teaches him how to manage his emotions. "Only God can heal all that hurt and anger," his father says.
Kennedy joined the Marines, a pivotal experience that instilled in him the discipline and respect he once lacked, along with the resilience and leadership skills that would serve him well later in life.
His turbulent childhood and challenging military career equipped him with the strength to confront school administrators and take his fight to court.
"I've been fighting my whole life," he tells an attorney.
The film cleverly uses humor by breaking the fourth wall, with leads Eric Close (Joe Kennedy) and Amy Acker (Denise Kennedy), at times, speaking directly to the camera.
Photo Credit: ©GND Media Group
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2. It's Filled with Surprises
Slide 2 of 3The film dispels several myths about Kennedy's case. For starters, he prayed at the 50-yard line for several years before any controversy arose. Additionally, he had plenty of support—not only among the players but also within the community.
Perhaps the movie's biggest surprise, though, involves the dissension within Kennedy's home. His wife works within the school district and opposes his gutsy stance, believing he is jeopardizing not only his position but her career, too.
"I'm being attacked on all fronts because you refuse to take a knee in the locker room," she tells him.
Eventually, they reconcile -- but not before several heated arguments.
"My wife was the human resource director for the school district, so you can imagine she was in the middle of all this, and she was getting it from both sides," the real-life Kennedy told Crosswalk. "She was left all alone, on an island, all by herself, and we almost got divorced over this."
Kennedy sued the school district in a case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Photo Credit: ©GND Media Group
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3. It Demonstrates the Power of One Individual in Transforming a Culture
Slide 3 of 3Average Joe is anything but a boring legal drama. (Courtroom scenes comprise less than 1 percent of the film.) Still, it's important to understand his case's impact on the legal system and on Americans' religious freedoms.
Prior to his case, courts frequently ruled against monuments and public prayers by pointing to the so-called Lemon Test, a legal concept that had been used since 1971 to determine if a law was constitutional. Often, religious liberty was on the losing end. In 2005, for example, the Supreme Court cited Lemon by ordering Ten Commandment displays removed from Kentucky courthouses. In 2000, the high court cited Lemon by ruling that student-initiated, student-led prayer at high school football games was unconstitutional.
But the Supreme Court overruled Lemon in Kennedy's 2022 case, transforming the legal landscape and expanding religious liberty. In place of Lemon, the justices ruled, future courts must look at the "original meaning" of the Constitution and the "understanding of the Founding Fathers."
Americans "have more religious liberty and freedoms today than we've had in the past 50 years," the real-life Joe Kennedy told Crosswalk."
The film is rated PG-13 for "thematic material and violence," largely due to his time in foster care and a scene that results in him getting a bloodied face. It contains mild language (see below).
Kennedy's story demonstrates the transforming power that one man can have on a culture when he has the courage to stand up for what is right. That alone is a reason to watch.
Rated PG-13 for some thematic material and violence. Coarse language: b----rd (1), a-- (4).
Entertainment rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Family-friendly rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Photo Credit: ©GND Media Group
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