What Purpose is Served by a Coach Praying Publicly at Midfield After a Football Game?

Beware of practicing your piety before others to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your father in heaven.  Matthew 6:1 

And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners so that they may be seen by others.  Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  Matthew 6:5-6

The Supreme Court may have decided that Coach Joe Kennedy's prayers on the public school football field with players and students is protected free speech, but those who are now hollering about this being an example of "religious persecution" need to review what the Bible has to say about the practice of Christian prayer.  These two scripture passages are actually the words of Jesus himself, from the narrative known as the "Sermon on the Mount" recorded by Matthew.  

While prayer is mentioned frequently through the Bible, and specifically the New Testament, this is one of very few references which provides actual instruction about how to pray, which includes the atmosphere and the posture of the individual Christian who is praying.  There isn't any place in the Bible where Jesus or one of his apostles, or one of the writers of the text, outlines something different than is found here.  

The Principle

The question that Jesus is addressing is one of motives.  Why is it that someone would openly pray in public?  I don't want to assign a motive to the coach, since all I know about what happened is what I've read, including his comments.  This was just something he chose to do.  Those in authority over him told him not to do it, and he made the decision to go ahead and do it.  Citing this scripture passage doesn't mean that I am considering him a hypocrite, or overly pious.  But for a Christian who claims to believe the Bible is without error, and is authoritative in all matters of faith and practice, it is a legitimate question to ask what his purpose was in defying authority, and lacking any consistency with the instruction of Jesus about prayer.  

Stepping out onto the field after a game, and kneeling, is not a discreet, "secret" way of praying.  From the information that has been gathered since this case hit the news cycle, the players on the team were all aware of what the coach was doing when he kneeled on the field, and that they were invited to join him.  It was voluntary.  If it wasn't intended as a demonstration of personal piety, then it would be much more consistent with what Jesus says about the posture of personal prayer to step into a more private setting, away from the crowds departing the field, and perhaps even away from the football team, and pray in private.  That way, regardless of personal motives, whatever posture the coach took to pray, kneeling, standing with folded hands, head bowed, or lying face down on the floor, no one else would see it, which is the point Jesus is making. 

Inviting players to join in means that the prayer is not being made in secret.  A football team depends a lot on a spirit of team unity, which is a major responsibility of the coach.  Are there players who might think that while the coach has said this was "voluntary," there may be some nuance of favoritism given to those players who do show up to his time of prayer and go even if they're not necessarily Christian?  And for players who are not Christian, or who may even be of a different religious tradition, won't they feel excluded?  There's a lot more to consider here beyond the coach's right to free speech and expression.  The students should have the same consideration.  

Defiance and Resistance

The fact that this coach defied the instruction of those in authority over him, and decided to go ahead with this practice, is the bigger issue here, from a Christian perspective.  Defiance and resistance are not the manner in which Christians are instructed to deal with what they perceive as a challenge to the practice of their faith.  Approaching adversarial situations, or issues where there's a disagreement with governing authority demands submission, not resistance, according to both Apostles Peter and Paul.  A Christian is an image-bearer for Christ, a testimony of faith and in this case, the testimony was not well received by many of those who were involved.  

I've been in church long enough to know how this works.  In spite of claiming that the Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice in the church, people often put their own constrictions and interpretations on those passages that don't support their personal preferences and then they do as they please.  And just because the Supreme Court says Coach Kennedy can pray on the field after a game doesn't mean that he doesn't have to follow what Christ said about the practice of prayer.