High school coach's demonstrative religious actions at the center of the field immediately following the game were performed as a public employee in the course of performing the responsibilities of the job.
The actions cannot be considered personal and private because of the coach's prior attempts to publicize them. The collective nature of the activity on almost every occasion establishes that an objective observer would conclude that the practice, coupled with the exclusion of others who might seek access, was an endorsement of a particular religion.
Regulation of coach's conduct was sufficiently narrowly tailored to survive strict scrutiny, given the need to avoid a violation of the Establishment Clause.
School district had no obligation under Title VII to rehire, given the violation of policies. Plaintiff can't establish a Title VII disparate treatment claim, as there were no comparators engaged in perceptible prayer. As the coach's only request was public prayer at midfield after the game, school district was not compelled to accept it as a reasonable accommodation of a practice of bona fide religious belief conflicting with job responsibilities, and it was a sufficient basis for the adverse employment action.
CONCURRENCE:
Fact-driven holding. (Analysis tracks majority opinion.)