Coach Pays Tribute To Kaepernick During Anthem, Players Join In – Here’s How That Worked Out For Them

Note: we are republishing this story, which originally made the news in September 2016.

Following the lead of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, a few members of a New Jersey high school football team knelt while the national anthem played.

Like Kaepernick and Marshall, coaches and students combined as the predominantly non-white Woodrow Wilson school performed the controversial move to raise awareness of social and economic injustice, NBC News reports.

Initially, Tigers coach Preston Brown said he was going to kneel alone in protest.

“I am well aware of the third verse of the national anthem which is not usually sung, and I know that the words of the song were not originally meant to include people like me,” he explained.

The silent third verse he’s referring to reads: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave / From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.”

“[Because] of recent events that happened the last couple years, things I experienced in college being an African-American student athlete in the south, I felt it was an appropriate time to do that,” explained Brown, NJ.com reports.

Photo credit: NBC, ​USA Today
Photo credit: NBC, ​USA Today

“I’m African-American, I wouldn’t rather be in any other country,” he added. “But I can’t be oblivious to the things I see every day that are different four blocks away in a neighboring town.”

After informing players of his decision, some of the students decided to join Brown, likely because the students could empathize with his reasons.

“I grew up in poverty, a lot of these kids are growing up in poverty,” explained Brown. “There’s a lot of social injustices and economic disparities. There’s issues right here in our own community.”

While they support standing for the flag, the Camden City School District said they agreed with Brown’s sentiments and praised the students.

“Whether our students choose to stand, kneel, or otherwise, we’re proud of their engagement with what is more broadly a very important social justice issue,” school district spokesman Brendan Lowe said.

Sources: NBCNJ.com

Related Posts

Grandmother Captures Last Photo Of

A TikTok user has attracted significant attention for sharing the heartbreaking final moments of her daughter’s life, captured on camera by her mother just before the tragic inc:ident. Samantha Jensen…

Read more

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance should be an important part of American schools once more. America should go back to “One Nation Under God” is a good way to begin! The…

Read more

With tears all day after reading this

A man returns home early from work one afternoon to find his wife spread out on the bed, puffing and panting. “What are you doing?” the man inquires .“Err,” she…

Read more

The appliance in your home that doubles your electricity bill. It consumes as much in a minute as others do in hours.

A machine that most new homes as of now have can twofold your power bill. This can be stayed away from assuming we focus.There are a mix-ups that lead to…

Read more

TRUMP UNEXPECTED ANNOUNCEMENT

Former President Donald Trump is becoming more and more popular in regions of the country where it would have seemed unimaginable to some. The former president demonstrated this last week…

Read more

Your blood sugar is super high if you feel pain in any of the following body parts

As per Healthline, your body is designed in a way that separates the glucose (sugar) your body makes into energy. In this way, you get the energy you need to…

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *