Bluefield College lost a men’s basketball game on Thursday after the NAIA school suspended several players for kneeling during national anthems before games in the past two months. The school’s president, David Olive, revealed that he told the team’s players to stop kneeling before the games.
When the players refused, Olive made the decision to suspend the players who chose to kneel, which led to the confiscation of the team’s game against Reinhardt University.
“The basis for my decision came from my own awareness of how kneeling is seen by some in our country, and I did not think that several of our former students, friends and college donors would see the act of kneeling during the hymn. in a positive way, “Olive said in a statement.
Olive talked to players, coaches and the school’s athletic director, Tonia Walker, about her knees during the national anthem. Even after these discussions, he still made the decision to suspend players for their actions.
Olive initially did not know that the players were kneeling during the national anthem. However, on February 1, he became aware of the fact that the players had kneeled in the previous three games, two of which were away from home. After learning about the recent kneeling, Olive spoke to trainer Richard Morgan and told him that kneeling during the hymn would not be tolerated.
After Olive made her statement clear to the team, the players at Bluefield College chose to ignore Olive’s order. On February 4, Morgan made the decision to keep his team in the locker room during the national anthem, in an effort to avoid reactions.
“I also told them that their intended message to raise awareness about racial injustices was being diluted or completely lost because some saw their kneeling as a disrespect to the flag, our country and our veterans,” Olive said in the statement. . “In my opinion, their message was not being heard.”
The team most recently knelt before Tuesday’s game against Tennessee Wesleyan. After the game, Olive told Morgan that players would face “consequences”.