Two Texas high school football players kicked off team for national anthem protests
By Adam Spencer
Published:
National anthem protests have become huge news in the NFL, and those actions are making their way to the lower levels of football too.
Unfortunately for two Texas high school players at Victory & Praise Christian Academy, those protests have led to them being kicked off the team.
According to the Houston Chronicle, when Cedric Ingram-Lewis raised his fist and his cousin, Larry McCullough, knelt during the anthem, they were immediately kicked off the team by coach Ronnie Mitchem:
“That was my point of view,” Mitchem said. “Like I said, I’m a former Marine. That just doesn’t fly and they knew that. I don’t have any problem with those young men. We’ve had a good relationship. They chose to do that and they had to pay for the consequences.”
Lewis said that the coach asked them to leave their uniforms as they made their way off the field:
“He told us that disrespect will not be tolerated,” Lewis said, recalling the moments after the anthem ended. “He told us to take off our uniform and leave it there.”
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the two players and their coach, as it’s likely that we haven’t heard the last from this situation.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
