5 black cheerleaders, known as the Kennesaw 5, took a knee during the national anthem at one of their home games a few weeks ago. Like Colin Kaepernick, former 49ers player who claims to have been blackballed by the NFL, they were kneeling in solidarity with people of color in the United States.
Ryan Meyers,a student at Kennesaw State, saw what happened. “When the
pledge started everyone stood I was at the opposite side of the field, facing the cheerleaders and
talking to a friend and a couple of the cheerleaders took a knee. No one really noticed it at first
but then some people started to point it out and after that it got crazy.”
The cheerleaders were barred from going onto the field after that game. On that next
Monday the cheerleaders were told they wouldn’t be walking out for the pledge anymore and that
they would stay in the locker room. They were told this was pre-planned and had nothing to do
with the kneeling however many of the Kennesaw students suspect it was because of the
kneeling.
Since this incident, “there have been about two protests on campus about it and people
are still upset though most aren’t really vocal about it.” Meyers reflects, “I would say a majority of students support the cheerleaders but there is definitely opposition about the kneeling.”
After this incident, someone spray painted vulgar racial slurs on a black student’s car. The culprit hasn’t been caught yet, but there is an ongoing investigation at KSU.
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