Colin Kaepernick’s very public protests against the national anthem have inspired other NFL football players to take similar stands against what they consider to be a “racist” and “oppressive” song, one emblematic of social injustice.
But while Kaepernick and his colleagues have been lauded by some members of the press, and defended by others—even in some cases financially rewarded for their principled stands—students who choose to replicate Kaepernick’s protests on high-school campuses are facing harsh punishments.
High-school football players in New Jersey, Alabama and Massachusetts, replicating Kaepernick’s stand, are facing suspension from school, harassment from their peers and even, they claim, threats against their physical well-being.
A Catholic school in Camden, New Jersey, has told coaches to discipline players who fail to stand for the national anthem, saying that football players are expected to “demonstrate appropriate respect,” for the flag. Students who choose not to might be suspended from the team, or may have to miss games.
The quarterback of a Massachusetts public school football team said on Twitter that he received a one-game suspension after saying he’d kneel during the national anthem. Fearing civil-rights litigation, it seems, the school district immediately reversed the decision when word got out. And a California high school lowered one Native American student’s grade when she refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
But while schools claim to have extenuating circumstances the NFL does not—keeping peace and order among younger and more impressionable people—the impulse to punish non-conforming students may actually be illegal. As long as student protests aren’t seen as “threatening,” students are likely within their rights to engage in political expression, according to the ACLU.
Students have a Constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech, even on school grounds, during school hours, though there are some exceptions, like agreed-upon dress codes.
Film at 11...
well I hope Kaepernick feels bad for getting kids beat up & suspended from school...