Last Saturday, high school volleyball referees at a tournament in Lawrence, Indiana, threatened to disqualify players if they knelt for the national anthem.
Debate has ramped up nationwide in regard to an individual’s right to kneel for the anthem, as the act pertains to freedom of speech. Those in favor say that athletes have the right to peacefully protest using what Colin Kaepernick started as an act against police brutality and racial inequality in the US, while those opposed say it is disrespectful to the military and American culture at large.
Kaepernick first sat for the anthem during NFL preseason games in early August of 2016, but met with former NFL long-snapper and US Army Green Beret Nate Boyer, and decided to switch to kneeling.
He first knelt in a regular-season game on August 28th, 2016, and to kneel through the 2016-2017 NFL season, with a few other athletes following suit. The movement has since regained momentum in the wake of President Trump suggesting that athletes who kneel should be fired.
The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) told the IndyStar that it would remain “silent” on the topic, but did note that referees do not have the jurisdiction to disqualify athletes for actions taken during the anthem.
The match in question was between Lawrence Central and Cathedral high schools, held at Lawrence North High School, and according to IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox, the referees had a pre-match meeting where they discussed disqualifying athletes who “did not show respect for the flag or the national anthem.”
It’s not known at this time what exactly the referees said to athletes, and whether or not their threat was in response to a particular event.
In the end, no athletes knelt on Saturday.
“Our office has communicated with these officials and all contest officials reminding them of their assigned duties and those outside their jurisdiction,” Cox told IndyStar. He added that they can communicate directly via email with every official and every school in the Association if necessary.
While the IHSAA hopes that students will give “proper respect and attention” during the anthem, its only specific rules about event behavior are outlined in IHSAA by-laws 3 and 8, which you can view here.
Other similar protests around the country have been met with varying degrees of response from their high schools, though most have generally ended in non-suspensions eventually.
About a year ago, University of Kansas players knelt before the anthem, and just yesterday, the Starkville High School team took a knee for the song. A number of other high schools have also taken a knee.
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