Two Ohio high school football players were suspended from the team after they ran onto the field on 9-11 with thin blue line and thin red line flags in support of the anniversary.
The thin blue line flag represents support for police officers and the thin red line flag represents support for fire fighters.
For the record:
** 50 police officers were killed in New York in the 9-11 attacks.
** 343 fire fighters were lost in the attacks.
The boys were honoring 9-11 victims and their fathers who work as a police officer and a fire fighter.
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One player, Brady Williams, whose father is a police officer said he wanted to honor the all the cops who lost their lives on 9-11.
Jarad Bentley, whose father is a firefighter, carried the thin red line on the field and waved it before the game.
Athletic Director Gregory Power kicked the two boys off the team indefinitely.
https://local12.com/news/local/football-players-suspended-after-carrying-thin-blue-thin-red-lines-flags-at-game-cincinnati
Local 12 reported:
Some local high school football players are finding that their support for first responders is coming at a huge cost.
The boys are now suspended from their team after not heeding a warning to leave the Thin Blue Line and Thin Red Line flags that represent fallen firefighters and police officers off the field.
When the Little Miami High School football team took the field Friday, Sept. 11, a couple of players carried alongside the American flag a Thin Blue Line and Thin Red Line flags.
“Were you trying to make some kind of a political statement here?” Local 12 asked Brady Williams, a senior cornerback.
“No,” he answered quickly. “Not at all. I was just doing it to honor the people that lost their lives 19 years ago.“
Williams was holding the Thin Blue Line flag as he rushed onto the field Friday. His father is a police officer, and he says he wanted to honor all the cops who lost their lives trying to save others on 9/11.
Jarad Bentley carried the Thin Red Line flag.
“I was all for it,” he said. “Because my dad is a firefighter, and if it had been him killed on 9/11, I would have wanted someone to do it for him.”
The problem is, the boys had asked the school permission prior to the game and they were denied and told if they defied the order, there would be consequences.
“Listen,” Williams said. “I don’t care what my consequences are. Ss long as my message gets across, I’ll be happy.”
Williams and Bentley heard from the athletic director Monday afternoon and received an indefinite suspension. Local 12 had spoken with the superintendent a few hours earlier.
“We can’t have students who decide to do something anyway after they’ve been told that they shouldn’t be doing it,” said Gregory Power.
Read the rest here.
