BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state high school coach on paid leave because he refused to stop praying on the field prayed in front of the bleachers after attending the football game.

Coach Joe Kennedy hugged players before the Thursday game and watched from the stands, talking with media at halftime and kneeling down to pray with a group of people who shouted "Amen" when he finished.

He told media it hurt his heart that the situation had gotten to the point where "his guys are in the locker room and I've got to be out here."

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