Whether you agree with the method of protest, you have to commend these high schoolers for banding together and showing complete unity with each other.
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For the second week in a row, a local high school football team protested the pre-game National Anthem by taking a knee Friday night.
The entire Garfield High School football team kneels during national anthem before their game against West Seattle tonight.
“The conversation started two weeks ago, and we were talking about life and some of the things some of the young men have experienced as far as social injustices, and how to deal with certain situations being a man of color”, said Thomas. Can we take a knee during the national anthem?’ I sat for a couple minutes and thought about how to respond and I said ‘guys it is up to you, it is your constitutional right to do what you believe and I am not going to step in the way of that.’ So they made a decision to take a knee and they are doing it for the injustices that they feel is happening to the minorities – blacks in the United States of America – to bring awareness.
“Everybody wants to talk about how this is disrespectful to the American flag”, Thomas said. “That’s a smokescreen. How about we talk about the issues people are kneeling and fighting for?”
When it was game time, the team’s quarterback, Niamey Harris, was the first one to drop to a knee during the anthem.
With Coach Hill’s support, Mission High’s varsity team plans to do this at more games in the future too.
“I’m just standing up for what is right and what I believe in”, he said. All the players who knelt did so with the blessing of their coaches and administrations.
“I immediately thought, what am I going to do and I said I’m going to stand for my team proudly, I’m going to stand as their coach”, Hill said.
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Nevertheless, Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Washington, D.C., asserts that the Mission High School players have a right to their protest.
