News

Two high school football players kicked off team for kneeling during anthem

Published

7 years ago

October 3, 2017

Two Texas high school football players who tried to follow in the footsteps NBA stars,were kicked off the team after protesting the national anthem during a game Friday night.

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At Friday night’s game, Cedric Ingram-Lewis raised his fist while his cousin, Larry McCullough, knelt during the anthem before their game against Providence Classical.

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After the anthem, head coach Ronnie Mitchem instructed the teens to take off their uniforms and terminated their participation with the team.

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According to the Houston Chronicle,Ingram-Lewis, a sophomore at Victory and Praise Christian Academy, a private school in Crosby, Texas, said the idea to protest had came up in the locker room before the game. The coach had already told players he did not want anyone to kneel, due to his own participation in the military.

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“He told us that disrespect will not be tolerated,” Lewis said, recalling the moment after the anthem. “He told us to take off our uniform and leave it there.”

Lewis’ mother, Rhonda Brady, says she supports her son and nephew’s decision to protest. She also says she was surprised by the coach’s reaction.

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“I’m definitely going to have a conversation because I don’t like the way that was handled,” Brady said. “But I don’t want them back on the team. A man with integrity and morals and ethics and who truly lives by that wouldn’t have done anything like that.

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Mitchem says he does not regret kicking the boys off the team, as they left him with no choice. He encouraged the players to protest, but in a different way like kneeling after a touchdown in the end zone or spreading word about the issue through writing.

The demonstration by the teens came one week after more than 200 players protested during the national anthem after President Trump called for owners to “fire” players who took a knee.