The Rochester City School District says staff at the World of Inquiry School will talk with varsity soccer players today after the entire team knelt during the National Anthem before a game earlier this week.*
The entire team took a knee before the Tuesday night game against Aquinas. A number of photos have been posted on social media sites. The team knelt during the anthem, each player with his arm around the man next in line. Other high school players and teams have done this nationwide since Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players began kneeling during the anthem to protest racial inequality.
The school district says the coach and team staff weren’t aware of what the players were gone to do. The district says the students have the freedom to exercise their 1st Amendment rights, but they want to know the students are making a well-informed decision with the consent of their parents and knowledge of the school staff. The district says they’ll use this as a “teachable moment.”
* According to the United States Flag Code, “When the national anthem is played or sung, citizens should stand at attention and salute at the first note and hold the salute through the last note. The salute is directed to the flag, if displayed, otherwise to the music.”