Local Football Kneeling Protest

PICKENS COUNTY, Ala. and LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The trend of athletes kneeling during the National Anthem has moved from the stadiums of the NFL to area high school football fields.

Including in Pickens County, where some high school football players took a knee during the National Anthem before Friday night’s kickoff, to protest the way minorities are treated in America.

A couple of Mississippi High Schools have also had student athletes kneel before games, including Starkville High volleyball players, during a match against New Hope in Lowndes County.

The image of athletes kneeling during the National Anthem remains in the national spotlight.

Several Pickens County High School football players took a knee before Friday night’s kick-off.

WCBI was there and caught video of players on the sideline.

“We’ve been in contact with our local school administrators and they are aware and plan to use this as an opportunity for a teachable moment with our student athletes involved with this situation,” says Pickens County Superintendent Jamie Chapman.

Chapman released a statement to WCBI expressing school leaders had already addressed the issue before Friday night’s incident.

He adds that he respects students’ right to free speech.

Although the Lowndes County School District has not dealt with such an incident yet, board members are looking into the possibility of drafting a resolution of policies, so students and staff know what’s expected of them at events.

“It’s something that will probably be out there in the future, modeled along with what the Mississippi High School Activities Association already has. We have statements that are read before the ball games about how people are expected to conduct themselves and, according to the flag, and the National Anthem,” says Lowndes County Superintendent Lynn Wright.

Wright says he respects everyone’s rights and opinions, but the district expects appropriate behavior.

“There are reasonable expectations. There are reasonable requests made of our athletes, and you know, we expect them to comply. We expect them to represent this school well, represent their family well, represent our district well, and represent our country.”

He also wants students to understand the price people have paid for our flag and to respect our National Anthem.

“You have that right to get an education. Extracurricular activities, participating in football, or participating in any sport is not guaranteed, you know, a coach has a right to remove someone if they do not follow a reasonable request, you know, or a directive from them. They remove the player. They can not allow a player to play.”