High School Football Players Commanded to Stand During Anthem — Or Face Team Suspension

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/high-school-football-players-commanded-205709181.html

Last weekend, the conversation around the NFL centered not on the scores, but the national anthem. While former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started his demonstration against police brutality last August, President Trump's recent condemnation of athletes who follow suit prompted more headlines than ever before.

"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b*tch off the field right now, out, he's fired,'" Trump remarked at an Alabama rally last Friday, before following up on Twitter.


The statements prompted even more NFL players to demonstrate, with all 14 Sunday games involving some form of protest. The Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers (with the exception of Alejandro Villanueva) all chose to remain in their respective locker rooms for the pregame ceremony.

While other athletes lock arms or raise fists, Kaepernick and his supporters specifically choose to kneel because "it's a respectful gesture." "I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy," 49ers safety Eric Reid wrote in the New York Times.

Now, the debate's trickled down to high schools across the country as some attempt to halt potential protests altogether.

Yesterday, a Louisiana principal at Bossier Parish's Parkway High School sent a memo to all student athletes and parents mandating participation. "Parkway High School requires student athletes to stand in a respectful manner throughout the National Anthem," Principal Waylon Bates wrote. "Failure to comply will result in loss of playing time and/or participation as directed by the head coach and principal."

Bossier Parish's superintendent Scott Smith also confirmed to the Huffington Post that the district is encouraging officials at 34 schools to issue similar statements. He added that their location near Barksdale Air Force Base gave additional reason to "pay homage to the American flag." The move soon attracted attention online, driving the heated social media discussion even further.

Bossier Parish isn't alone. Three Catholic high schools in Long Island, New York, issued a similar warning yesterday. But if student athletes at public schools choose to protest, legal precedent supports their right.

Back in 1943, the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that public schools cannot mandate participation in the Pledge of Allegiance and other patriotic ceremonies. "No official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion," the decision states. "If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us."

Another Supreme Court case - 1969's Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District - also confirmed public school students' First Amendment right to political protest specifically, Slate reports.

Given the court's decisions, other public schools are issuing memos re-affirming students' right to kneel. "If students choose to engage in non-disruptive demonstrations (like kneeling) during the Anthem, we are recommending that you allow them to do so," advised Assistant Superintendent Kevin Shibley in a letter to principals in Pasco County, Florida. Pennsylvania administrators in Lehigh Valley sent a similar message as well.

So far, student athletes across the country - including Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon and Texas - have engaged in the peaceful protests. But with football season just beginning, it's unlikely the national conversation will die down soon.

During the national anthem, 18 Evanston players took to one knee, while one player sat down. A New Trier junior was the only member of his team to take a knee.