BARBERTON, Ohio — A local school district has responded after some of its student athletes were apparently seen not standing for the United States national anthem before a game.
In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the Barberton City School District confirmed some players did not stand and that it “supports every student’s right to free speech.” Officials cited the U.S. Constitution, Ohio law (forbidding schools from forcing students to perform acts of patriotism like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance), and the 1943 Supreme Court case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that protected students from being forced to salute the American flag.
The district further wrote:
“While many people may not share this student’s point of view, as a public school district we are proud of all of our students who are learning important lessons about life that public schools are uniquely suited to teach—that people can hold different beliefs and can still coexist, get along, and even work together toward common goals.”
Based on reader comments posted on an online story from the Barberton Herald, it appears the students’ actions took place during Friday night’s high school boys basketball win over Kent Roosevelt. It is unknown at this time just how many players did not stand.
The decision of some athletes to not stand for the anthem first gained national attention in 2016, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat and then knelt during the pregame playing of The Star-Spangled Banner in protest of racism and police brutality in the U.S. Several athletes in the NFL (including multiple Browns players in 2017) and other sports later followed his lead, and a national conversation began about patriotism and racial issued in America.
Barberton schools responded to several outraged community members on the Facebook post with the initial statement, with one comment reading, “The reason [for not standing] is personal to the student. From a district standpoint, we must follow the law.”
3News has reached out to Barberton officials for further info on the matter.