Re: Florida State Seminoles
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:38 am
good on ya
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An NAIA school in Virginia forfeited its men's basketball game Thursday after suspending players for kneeling during the national anthem before several games in January and February.
In a statement Thursday, Bluefield College president David Olive said that after players knelt before multiple games in January and February, even after he'd told them to stop, he decided to suspend all athletes involved, which resulted in a forfeit of the NAIA Division II Appalachian Athletic Conference game against Reinhardt.
"The basis for my decision stemmed from my own awareness of how kneeling is perceived by some in our country, and I did not think a number of our alumni, friends, and donors of the College would view the act of kneeling during the anthem in a positive way," Olive said.
In the statement, Olive, who is white, recounted an ongoing discussion with coaches, players and the school's athletic director, Tonia Walker, who is Black, over kneeling during the anthem, but suspensions were handed down only after media reports surfaced last week.
Olive said he became aware on Feb. 1 that players had knelt during the anthem for the previous home game and later learned that the same had occurred in two prior road games. At that point, he informed coach Richard Morgan that kneeling during the anthem would not be tolerated.
This stands in direct contrast with what the basketball team was told before the season, according to Bluefield football player Jewels Gray, who is close with many members of the basketball team and has discussed the suspensions with players. Gray said the basketball players were told they were not allowed to release a statement of their own or speak to the media.
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"Why would our school contradict what they said?" Gray said. "We had meetings before the season with [the athletic director] and the president, and they stated that we can kneel and they'd support and be behind us, 100 percent."
Players again knelt during the anthem before their Feb. 2 game, ignoring the order. For the following game, on Feb. 4, Morgan kept the team in the locker room during the anthem to avoid further controversy.
Olive said he reached out to Morgan and members of the team to discuss the protests, saying that he understood their message and supported calls for racial justice -- but he did not condone doing so during the national anthem.
"I further told them that their intended message in bringing awareness of racial injustices was being diluted or completely lost because some saw their act of kneeling as being disrespectful to the flag, our country, and to our veterans," Olive said in the statement. "In my opinion, their message was not being heard."
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I'm sure someone will tell me how Bluefield is a shit college with a history of racism, blah, blah, blah
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An NAIA school in Virginia forfeited its men's basketball game Thursday after suspending players for kneeling during the national anthem before several games in January and February.
In a statement Thursday, Bluefield College president David Olive said that after players knelt before multiple games in January and February, even after he'd told them to stop, he decided to suspend all athletes involved, which resulted in a forfeit of the NAIA Division II Appalachian Athletic Conference game against Reinhardt.
"The basis for my decision stemmed from my own awareness of how kneeling is perceived by some in our country, and I did not think a number of our alumni, friends, and donors of the College would view the act of kneeling during the anthem in a positive way," Olive said.
In the statement, Olive, who is white, recounted an ongoing discussion with coaches, players and the school's athletic director, Tonia Walker, who is Black, over kneeling during the anthem, but suspensions were handed down only after media reports surfaced last week.
Olive said he became aware on Feb. 1 that players had knelt during the anthem for the previous home game and later learned that the same had occurred in two prior road games. At that point, he informed coach Richard Morgan that kneeling during the anthem would not be tolerated.
This stands in direct contrast with what the basketball team was told before the season, according to Bluefield football player Jewels Gray, who is close with many members of the basketball team and has discussed the suspensions with players. Gray said the basketball players were told they were not allowed to release a statement of their own or speak to the media.
Editor's Picks
"Why would our school contradict what they said?" Gray said. "We had meetings before the season with [the athletic director] and the president, and they stated that we can kneel and they'd support and be behind us, 100 percent."
Players again knelt during the anthem before their Feb. 2 game, ignoring the order. For the following game, on Feb. 4, Morgan kept the team in the locker room during the anthem to avoid further controversy.
Olive said he reached out to Morgan and members of the team to discuss the protests, saying that he understood their message and supported calls for racial justice -- but he did not condone doing so during the national anthem.
"I further told them that their intended message in bringing awareness of racial injustices was being diluted or completely lost because some saw their act of kneeling as being disrespectful to the flag, our country, and to our veterans," Olive said in the statement. "In my opinion, their message was not being heard."
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I'm sure someone will tell me how Bluefield is a shit college with a history of racism, blah, blah, blah