Louisiana High School Threatens To Punish Athletes Who Don't Stand For National Anthem

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Deadspin

Patrick Redford
34 minutes ago

This morning, Waylon Bates, the principal of Parkway High School in Bossier Parish, La., sent a letter to the students and parents of his school warning that any athletes who did not stand in a respectful manner during the pre-game national anthem would be subject to disciplinary action. He made it clear that he has the authority to kick players off the team if need be, which is his prescribed punishment for athletes who repeatedly {fail} to comply.

Here's what Bates wrote:

The LHSAA (Louisiana High School Athletic Association) allows school principals to make decisions regarding student participation in the National Anthem while competing in athletic contests and games. Parkway High School requires student athletes to stand in a respectful manner throughout the National Anthem during any sporting event in which their team is participating. Failure to comply will result in loss of playing time and/or participation as directed by the head coach and principal. Continued failure to comply will result in removal from the team. Parkway High School is committed to creating a positive environment for sporting events that is free of disruption to the athletic contest or game.

If Bates really wants to foster a positive environment, maybe it would be best not to preemptively restrict the self-expression of his school's football players. The thing is, he's still not exactly free to level draconian punishment on teens for insufficiently respecting the flag (which is a myopic power-trip thing to do to begin with, before we even consider the legality of it). The Louisiana ACLU condemned his actions and noted that the Supreme Court disagrees with Bates: (1)

Nearly 75 years ago, the Supreme Court rightly held that state schools have no business forcing students to stand for patriotic rituals. The Court also reminded public school administrators that part of their job is to train students for participation in our free society. This principle holds no less true today, and no less true on the playing field than it does in the classroom. Schools have no valid interest in turning their students into mouthpieces of government speech, full stop. Indeed, schools should respect students who embrace their constitutional rights and stand up to injustice not punish them. And it would be patently unconstitutional for the school to do so.

(1) https://www.laaclu.org/en/news/aclu-louisiana-condemns-bossier-parishs-threats-students-first-amendment-rights

Read more: https://deadspin.com/louisiana-high-school-threatens-to-punish-athletes-who-1818969284

---

And it has begun.

High schools are now following Trumps order.

Will kick off any players who dont stand during the National Anthem.

Link to tweet

* * * * *

The decision actually specifies coaches as well.

Link to tweet

* * * * *

[div class"excerpt"]Louisiana high school will kick students off team if they dont stand for national anthem

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/09/28/louisiana-high-school-will-kick-students-off-team-if-they-dont-stand-for-national-anthem/

By Jacob Bogage September 28 at 2:02 PM

A high school in northeast Louisiana will punish students with suspensions or removal from sports teams if they demonstrate during the national anthem.

Principal Waylon Bates of Parkway High School in Bossier Parish called such demonstrations a disruption in a letter wrote Thursday to students and parents.

Parkway High School requires student athletes to stand in a respectful manner throughout the National Anthem during any sporting event in which their team is participating, he wrote. Failure to comply will result in a loss of playing time and/or participation as directed by the head coach and principal. Continued failure to comply will result in removal from the team.
....

Jacob Bogage writes about sports for The Washington Post, where he's worked since 2015. He's previously covered the automotive and manufacturing industries for the Business section. Follow @jacobbogage
https://twitter.com/jacobbogage

* * * * *

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette

Justice Robert Jackson, who had joined the court only two years earlier, wrote the decision, echoing the free-expression sentiments of Stromberg v. California.

The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.
....

The case is made difficult not because the principles of its decision are obscure but because the flag involved is our own. Nevertheless, we apply the limitations of the Constitution with no fear that freedom to be intellectually and spiritually diverse or even contrary will disintegrate the social organization. To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds. We can have intellectual individualism and the rich cultural diversities that we owe to exceptional minds only at the price of occasional eccentricity and abnormal attitudes. When they are so harmless to others or to the State as those we deal with here, the price is not too great. But freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order.

If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.

* * * * *

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson

[TNNurse]

1. Has that whole Nazi feel to it, doesn't it???

[Angry Dragon]

2. YES

[Doreen]

6. There has been a Nazi feel since the pricks inauguration.

[gopiscrap]

14. Exactly

[ailsagirl]

25. It sure does

[adigal]

38. Here is the number of the high school if you want to weigh in: [phone]

I'm going to call tomorrow AM. Just to share my thoughts on their Nazi bullshit.

[DinahMoeHum]

3. The Supreme Court said NO on this practice 74 years ago.

1943 - while World War 2 was going on, mind you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette

[Blue_Adept]

4. I'm waiting for mandatory "Heil Trump" just to see if his boosters will realize what they're doing

[louis-t]

5. What is the punishment for not giving the Nazi salute?

[elleng]

7. THANKS for including the West Virginia case.

This guy should have his head handed to him, quickly and soundly, and be broadcast to EVERY OTHER 'small' administrator around the country.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Didn't I see you make a reference to that in another thread earlier today?

Last edited Fri Sep 29, 2017, 09:13 AM - Edit history (1)

I did a search to see if this had already been posted.

[elleng]

9. Posted this Monday:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016193676

[Glorfindel]

10. There are certain Christian denominations, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, who consider

it to be blasphemy and/or idolatry to pledge allegiance, stand, or in other ways participate in flag worship. Principal Waylon Bates could find himself, his school, and his district in deep doo-doo if he violates some student's freedom of religion.

[Stallion]

11. Public Schools are Government Actors not Employers-Somebody Needs to Set This Guy Straight

before he is hit with a big expensive lawsuit

[groundloop]

12. When I was in school that edict would have prompted the entire team to take a knee.

[rurallib]

17. I know it is asking too much, but oh would I love to see a team action

and have the principle pull the team off the field right before the game.

[maxrandb]

13. That will last unti they start losing football games 77-0

Then we'll see where their priorities are.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. The Shreveport Times is a closer source.

It's a Gannett paper, so expect lots of pop-up ads and autoplay videos.

Updated: Punishment for protest during anthem outlined in Bossier

Roy Lang III, [e-mail] Published 2:02 p.m. CT Sept. 27, 2017 | Updated 3:34 p.m. CT Sept. 28, 2017

Wednesday morning, Bossier Schools Superintendent Scott Smith said there is an expectation his student-athletes will stand for the national anthem at sporting events.

“It is a choice for students to participate in extracurricular activities, not a right, and we at Bossier Schools feel strongly that our teams and organizations should stand in unity to honor our nation’s military and veterans,” Smith said in a statement.

Smith said any discipline delivered to defectors would be handled by individual schools.

One high school official in Bossier Parish said potential punishments range from “extra running to a one-game suspension.”
....

Twitter: @RoyLangIII

https://twitter.com/RoyLangIII

[NCDem47]

16. Just one brave soul...

...and some lawyers behind him/her to test this. Can't wait.

[procon]

18. Trump is really on a losing streak.

He's going to be on the wrong side of the law, again. And shame on all the adult idiots in schools who flunked their own courses in USGOV-101, and thought their biased opinions are more important than the Constitutional First Amendment Rights of students.

In the Vietnam era I remained seated while the PA system blared out the National Anthem in first period. It was hard on me and I took a lot of flack, but I was too stubborn to back down.

[MyOwnPeace]

28. Forget USGOV-101...........

there should have been even more training in "School Law" before the guy became a principal!
However, all states vary on requirements and this guy could have been a school board member's brother-in-law!

But don't worry, I'm sure Secretary DeVos is going to get things in order right away!

[Major Nikon]

19. Sure, because patriotism and authoritarianism go so well together

[Judi Lynn]

20. Way-lon has it all figured out. Everyone has to do what Waylon says, or he'll ruin their lives.

They didn't make him one of the three principals of the year for nuthin'.

[trof]

21. PLEASE join ACLU. They're gonna be extra busy.

Just click here to learn how. Best 10 bucks you'll ever spend.
https://www.aclu.org/reasons-join-aclu

[broadcaster90210]

22. AAAAnnnnnddddddddd ..... lawsuit

nt

[sinkingfeeling]

23. ACLU please file suit.

[workinclasszero]

24. Immediately

If not sooner.

[madaboutharry]

26. Mr. Bates is about to find out about The United States Constitution.

You would think he would have called the school district's lawyer before making a fool of himself.

[BlueIdaho]

29. Hes also about to find out the legal fees

will bankrupt his school district.

[GulfCoast66]

27. If all the African American players on a team in NE Louisiana are suspended

The team will never win another game. And if coach tries to make them run laps, wind sprints or bleachers and they tell him to fuck off, that will be the end of it.

[lindysalsagal]

30. kneeling BEFORE the game doesn't disrupt THE GAME.

"free of disruption to the athletic contest or game." is the end of the phrase. Kneeling before does nothing to disrupt the game.

Now, if kids are running onto the field, throwing things, blasting loud noises, etc. DURING the game, then they're disrupting.

[bluestarone]

31. just remember

if they can force you to salute this flag they can force you to salute ANY FLAG

[mr_lebowski]

32. Let me be the first to point out ... maybe BANKRUPTING the Public Schools ... is EXACTLY THE POINT?

Think a bit further down the road, folks ...

[WinkyDink]

34. I like the way you think. The Agenda has always been long-term.

[WinkyDink]

33. Would that every last one of them, including cheerleaders and mascot, quit.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

35. Former SPLC director @FrankLoMonte weighs in the law is "murky."

Former SPLC director @FrankLoMonte weighs in on punishments for high schoolers who #TakeAKnee — the law is "murky." http://bit.ly/2keUv3Q

Link to tweet

Are Student Athlete Protests Fair Game Under 1st Amendment, Or Can Schools Cry Foul? It’s ‘Murky,’ Expert Says

By MARK KEIERLEBER | September 29, 2017

....
In response to the letter from Parkway High School Principal Waylon Bates, which said students must “stand in a respectful manner throughout the National Anthem,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana warned the district that such a demand violated students’ First Amendment rights.

Certainly, such a reaction could open districts up to legal liability, particularly if an athlete relies on sports as a path to college, said Frank LoMonte, director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida. A tally by the National Coalition Against Censorship lists more than a dozen incidents since last year when public schools punished students for kneeling.

But for a student, winning a legal challenge under the First Amendment, he said, may not be an easy goal.

“Outside of a school, the law of the First Amendment would be absolutely crystal-clear, and unfortunately, it’s murky in the school setting,” LoMonte said. “The problem is, there have been judges who are willing to look the other way on the First Amendment inside a school. Can a school legally deny you membership on a football team because they don’t like your speech? I doubt it, but I think there are some judges who would disagree with me.”

If the First Amendment protects every American’s right to free speech and to protest, why are a student’s rights any different? After all, a 1943 Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette found that schools cannot compel students to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

[dembotoz]

36. Was not a athlete but I would be tempted to sit

Just to say fuck u to the admin. Cause in high school that is how I was

Prob still am

[adigal]

37. He will lose this in court - I hope the ACLU are in touch with coaches/kids

This is Nazi/authoritarian crap. Will they have more goosestepping practice after the game?

[Blue_Tires]

39. That's illegal...

[displacedtexan]

40. Lawsuit settlement money will come in handy for college.

School administrators should have to retake Amer. Gov't. every time they lose one of these cases.