Spectators shouted “stand up” and loudly booed as half a dozen athletes kneeled as the song played. The protest mimics that carried out by National Football League players who have sought to bring attention to racial injustice and oppression of black Americans by refusing to stand during the anthem. No UVM players appeared to kneel.
Not everyone in the crowd at UVM’s Patrick Gym was critical, video footage from the scene shows. Some audience members clapped as the players kneeled, and yelled out in support of their right to protest. St. Michael’s basketball coach Josh Meyer, who is white, took a knee, as did at least two other members of the coaching staff.
At least one black St. Michael’s player remained standing.
The negative crowd reaction “really pained” a black UVM basketball player, who tweeted about the incident after the game.
Around the country, “taking a knee” has become a powerful and controversial protest movement. Some football fans have cheered athletes for bringing attention to racism, while others see the refusal to stand during the anthem as disrespectful and unpatriotic. President Donald Trump has urged NFL owners to fire players who don’t stand for the anthem.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the movement in 2016 to protest racial injustice. The demonstration has since spread to teams throughout the league, especially in light of Trump’s comments in September. The trend has gained ground with players on some college and high school teams around the country.
Meyer, the St. Michael’s coach, did not immediately return a message seeking comment, nor did the college athletic director, Chris Kenny.
Here’s the footage:
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I am impressed by and proud of these players for their courage! We are all made stronger by their example. As for the snowflakes who criticize them, they should examine their comfort with the status quo. It’s a long road for them to understand that they are white supremacists but I remain hopeful that they’ll get there.
As a UVM grad, it saddens me that NO ONE on the team demonstrated solidarity.
Smash white supremacy!
Last month a D3 football player was kicked off his team for speaking his truth and taking a knee. Thank you to the SMC basketball team for having the integrity to respectfully kneel and bring attention to the racial injustices facing so many Americans and Vermonters. Coach Meyer may very well be the first collegiate or professional coach to display solidarity through his actions. That the team did so on an opposing team’s court in front of a packed house of fans, 99+% of whom are white, took far more courage than heckling anonymously from the stands. Proud to be a SMC alum.
good for them
My Son is a Marine currently deployed in the middle east. Kneeling during the National Anthem is, to put it in terms that the college indoctrinated leftists may understand, a “macro aggression”. It’s an insult and slap in the face of every person in the Military and their family. Just because you have the right to say/do something doesn’t make it right. Not proud.
I’m sorry, Rick, with all due respect to your son, these athletes are taking a knee in the hope it will help lead to an America which is more worth fighting and God forbid dieing for. They deserve your respect, not condemnation.
Richard Fink
If you’d paid attention for just a second to what Kaepernick had to say, you might understand that this protest has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the armed forces.
And, in case you harbor any illusions about the purpose of the military, it’s there to serve the Amerikkkan corporate empire. Don’t take my word for it; read Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler’s “War is a Racket.”
Someone teach these kids they are not victims. You can only have so much black privilege. Black privilege affirmative action, 20 all black colleges funded by the government but no all white colleges because it is racist, bet because having a white channel is racist. White Privilege is a term made up by minorities who cannot take responsibility for their own mistakes and faults.
Rick Battistoni, who commented in this thread, is an administrator at Saint Michael’s College. The kneeling has nothing to do the the armed forces and has everything to do with the unfair treatment of minorities in the United States. Many people who are (or have been) in the armed forces are people of color, and their sons do not have the same freedom as yours, because they are more likely to be shot and killed by government employees (the police). People who say kneeling is an insult to people who are in the military are thinly disguised white supremacists.
So is Rick Batistoni saying that his son’s life and the national anthem are far more important than the lives of the Black and Brown folks these basketball players are to yind to bring attention to by kneeling, which, by the, in the military, is a form of respect. Black lives matter Rick, not just the feelings of your son.
Rick batistoni’s comment is incredibly reactionary. If anyone is engaging in ‘macro-agressions’ it is the police who keep killing people.
To me this shows how truly boring basket ball and football are to watch. Fans have to get up in arms about some guys quietly kneeling. Find yourself a sport that you actually like to participate in, get off your butt and get some exercise in the process. Maybe you’ll work out some of your anger issues over other people kneeling. Yes I understand the point of the kneeling but I don’t think it helps too many people already see the flag as a religion.
The original ‘protest’ in the NFL was based on the Hands Up Don’t Shoot news out of Ferguson that was a forensically proven LIE and became the epitome of Fake News by the biased Media in an effort to support Obama and Eric Holder’s opening salvo in their War on Cops.
Who really cares?
Athletes in small division schools that don’t have the national spotlight cast upon are using this stage to get their message heard. It’s asinine to think that taking a knee before the flag during the national anthem to protest racial injustice is wrong. The only truly asinine actions are from those who spew hate from uneducated mouths towards those that are looking for change for the better.
Disappointing since those that started protesting during the National Anthem do not communicate what they are protesting about and so now we have college students copying them blindly. Those of us that are SMC alums were taught from the Edmundite Society that it was our responsibility and an honor to serve our communities and make a difference. These protests do not serve anything but disrespect. The saying was “act locally think globally” and I would give credit to the NFL players if they went back to their communities and showed the injustices occurring and did something about them. But do not disrespect the flag and what it stands for, which is self sacrifice of others for the majority.
I stand with Rick. Kneeling during the anthem is as egregious as rolling on Shabbos.
I did not watch my buddies die face down in the muck just so black athletes from some artsy-fartsy private school could make a mockery of their inviolable, patriotic duty to entertain white folk in Patrick.
“Spectators shouted “stand up” and loudly booed – Oh yeah – How do you do that and sing the national anthem at the same time? Maybe those are the same folks who always start cheering for their team before the anthem is finished. I agree with the players’ protest and served 4 years in the military to help protect their right to do so.
One thing is for sure, SMC should be in division II, high school.
Rick Battistoni- I consider Nate a good friend of mine and went to school with him at SMC. I don’t think Nate would consider this a slap in the face and I think he would support his classmates rights as American citizens to protest and speak their minds using the platforms they have, rights he chose to fight for. I have always found him a genuine and open-hearted person and I don’t think you should be using him to progress inflexible, reactionary attitudes about people that you disagree with. You are a horrible representation of the SMC community, yet your son is one of the finest. Shame on you.
This wouldn’t be an issue if we gave up the National Anthem at games. Not all of us are that kind of patriot.
As an alumni of St Mikes and currently working in our legal system I am proud of these players for taking a knee. We are a county found on free speech and this is certainly a topic that needs discussion. Great job guys!
As to Rick’s comments above – you need to educate yourself about what this protest is about. do not fall for the mis-information that is being spread. This is about law enforcement treatment of minorities. NOT the military, and having been associated with both the military is a totally different thing then paramilitary law enforcement.
Whether or not you personally agree with the players who choose to engage in this silent form of protest, we all need to respect each other’s right to engage in peaceful demonstration. The fans at the game who chose to yell at players during the national anthem created a greater disruption, and showed great disrespect. I was at the game with my 13 year old son who was extremely dismayed that the St M players were ridiculed for taking a knee. Its important that we not lose sight of our core values to treat others with respect even if we disagree with their actions.
How can you people say these fools have Courage…just because they kneeled that doesn’t mean they have courage, it means they are disrespectful idiots… I bet you most of them don’t really know why they are kneeling for, they are just following the leader.!!!
Rick Battistoni, I am with you on this.., If these people would talk to some WWll and Vietnam Veterans about these fools taking a knee during the National Anthem how they feel about it they might find out how they really feel about it.. My father was in WWll and Korea, my husband was in Vietnam, my son was in Iraq (28 yrs in the Army who was killed in 2015(, and all 3 would say “we fought so fools like you can be free to speak your mind, BUT you will show respect to our Flag and National Anthem ” If my father were alive today he would kick these fools asses and make them stand.!!!
I see Donna is up to her usual racist blather and others clearly don’t understand the First Amendment. Taking a knee AKA kneeling is frequently seen as a sign of respect. Note that the players had their arms joined in fellowship, also a good thing. Notice also the number of black people who were doing nothing wrong who have been shot and killed by the police, sometimes on camera. Notice that the cops are not convicted of these killings, frequently not even charged. I, for one, am delighted that athletes continue to speak out against the injustices their communities and the communities of their fellow athletes suffer. Until those unwoke folk who think this is about the military and the flag understand, this needs to go on. We figured this out in the ’60s over civil rights and the Vietnam war.
By taking a knee, you’re disrespecting the very people who gave their lives in order for you to be able to take a knee in the first place. That’s why taking a knee during our national anthem is so wrong. Our national anthem is the one moment in our lives in which we all set aside our differences and recognize the wonderful opportunity we have to be Americans.
There are and always will be issues in which people are marginalized in our society. There will always be reasons to protest this or that. Yes there are instances in which people of color have been marginalized by others in racist ways, and we should always work hard to change that. There are also instances where incredible Brave cops have been killed by others in their line of duty protecting us from bad people. Those cops should also be admired and protected. Yet, you don’t see them taking a knee!
Ask for White Privilege that’s mostly just plain BS. Sure, people grow up with different levels of opportunity and Yes some minority communities have struggled. And Yes I grew up with a family in which I was taught to work hard. And yes I was privileged to have a dad who continued to work while he was dying of cancer the last five years of his live simply so he could show his family how much he loved them. But that wasn’t White Privilege that was simply privilege. Any man of any color or gender could do the same if they so choose. Color or gender does not limit you to do these kinds of things. And yes I have a good paying job. I also busted my ass off and work night and day and pay my way through college and graduate school to succeed. That wasn’t privilege that was hard work. It’s high time all these whiners got off their butts and simply figured it out instead of crying and whining as if they are living some horrific life. Fact is you all have opportunities and luck and bad luck at different points in your life, it’s up to you to own it and make a difference it has nothing to do with privilege. It has to do with hard work goodness and respect for others. And above all respect for our country. That’s opportunity is a privilege all of us have. So get off your butt and work hard. But please, don’t whine.
Wearing clothing with a flag on it is against flag codes. Putting the flag horizontally like they do at the beginning of every NFL game is against flag codes.
Kneeling isn’t against the codes. When you make a huge stink about something like kneeling but ignore actual code violations, it says to me that you don’t really care about respecting the military and you just feel uncomfortable about losing some power to a group that has less than you.
It’s honorable that many of you have relatives who served, or maybe served yourself. But using that to claim that you have the absolute moral high ground on this issue is just foolish. It is actually directly insulting to the memory of those who served to claim you are defending their memory when really you are defending your own wounded ego. They would be ashamed of you.
It would seem to me that yelling during the anthem is also more disruptive and disrespectful than silent kneeling ever could be. When the history books are written these players will be honored and you all are going to be painted as the morally inconsistent bigots you are.
I’d like to say that all the racist and clueless comments surprised me, but i have come to expect it.
Bad show.
Barbara Alsop , the know it all. Where did I say one thing that was racist??? You think it’s racist to respect our flag, our country, our National Anthem, and our police and Military??? Must be hard for you to think you are so perfect. You need to get out of the 60’s era, bet you were right there protesting the soldiers..hippies flower power. Also what about all the law enforcement that was murdered by blacks ??? You don’t even mention that do you.. Instead of these fools taking a knee, because they said it’s because of the injustice against blacks. why don’t they do something about it? .these NFL players make up to 30 million a yr, why don’t they go into their communities and do something good, But hey most of the NFL players are wife/girlfriend beaters, absent dads, and criminals. great role models huh. But I’m racist because I stand for my flag and place my hand over my heart right…. as the people in the south says… “Bless your ” !!!!!
74 SMC alum and ashamed of the school. White supremacy protest during football and basketball games, really? Did not lokk like SMC team was dominated by white supremists. NFL is 70+% black but o ly 12% of population. White supremacy? Yes, Im retired military and Ill defend your rights under the Constitution. Protest peacefully, fine. Jump on police cars and destroy property and the full wieght of the law should come down upon you. Screw your color, background, culture, race, and ethnicity. White or black equal justice under the law.
It’s sad commentary to see that people are advocating violence against people who do not honor the flag or national anthym the way they do. This is the very essence of totalitarianism as expressed in the worst dictatorships. I am glad that at least for now, courts do not enforce this type of small minded bigotry.
I am John Costello, Major, USAF (Ret) and an SMC Alum – Class of ’67. Many in our great class completed ROTC, went into the Air Force and retired, after 20-30 year military careers. We lost a classmate, Pete Cleary, who was shot down in Viet Nam.
I can see both sides of this debate – so how about considering a compromise, to be implemented at SMC, UVM and even the NFL. Here’s my idea – it’s okay to lock arms, kneel down, lay down, roll-over or do whatever your constitutional right of freedom of expression may be … but, when the National Anthem is played, everyone stands up, at attention, doffs their hat/cap, and puts a hand over their heart – or in the case of us retired military members, we salute the flag during the anthem.
No anger or vitriol … everyone is happy to have expressed their opinion and their respect for America, and our individual rights to disagree and express those beliefs … and we can all just harmoniously relax together and watch the game!
I’m not up on the recent politics behind the take the knee campaign, but here are my thoughts from watching this video. 1. I was raised by a man in the military to respect the national anthem. Stand, be quiet, and put your hand on your heart. 2. The SMC players seem to link arms as a sign of team unity – so they are not putting their hands on their hearts, but they are quiet and respectful of the flag, despite taking a knee. 3. The people shouting from the stands are just as if not more disrespectful for shouting as the flag is presented and yet the focus remains on the quiet kneeling players – what is that about? Where is the upset conversation over the disrespectful shouters from the stands? We live in 2017 in a very diverse population. In 2017 public schools may say the pledge but not everyone is standing and saluting the flag like we were when I was a kid. Respect comes in many forms, and in my opinion the SMC players were more respectful kneeling than the shouting commentators in the stands. Would it have been any less offensive if they had their hands on their heart? What if they were kneeling for a different reason, like supporting wounded warriors? I think people need to have more compassion and think about what really matters in the humanity of this whole issue.
If you don’t like how blacks are disrespecting the flag in the name of equal treatment/police brutality, look at how poorly that flag the pro-military folks are saying is disrespected treat those that served once they are done serving.
Fear is a scary thing. Some of us are afraid our children will die abroad, fighting for our freedoms while some of us are afraid our black and brown children will die right here on our soil because they moved too quickly, got rationally frustrated, or spoke too loudly. Both of these fears cause us to not be able to hear the other side. I might believe one side is right, but each side feels validated. Now until we as white people stop believing that our lives matter more than the next persons we will get no where. I am part of this too. And I will continue my work to unpack all that I have been handed. But today, right now, if you have disagreed with this protest, ask yourself why… and if it is because you think its disrespectful, you have misunderstood. It is disrespectful to think your flag, your symbol, deserves more respect than the actual lives of these folks.
I agree that we all should have freedom of speech. What I dont agree with is that the NFL idiots that started this have not articulated what they expect to happen. They are not smart or articulate enough to actually take this important issue to the next level. When we protested against the Vietnam War there was a very clear message. End the war. And we made that happen. What EXACTLY do these people want to happen and HOW do they propose to make it happen. Its amazing how all the liberal agendas get promoted. Whenever the conservatives mount an issue they are shut up, chastised, not covered, or they are criminally assulted. Remember the incidents at Middlebury? Get your act together, stop whining and go out and make this world a better place to live. Stop playing follow the leader and use your brains. After all, you are in college. Use critical learning skills to bring this issue to the next issue. Thank you.
As a parent of a SMC student, I am comforted by hearing that a SMC professor will stand up and express his fact based view of this “protest”. I am not paying $50k per year for my child to be at a “Snowflake” college. Keep teaching facts, and allow their bright minds to decide, not teach personal views and opinion as fact. Allow debate to peacefully exist and not have SMC become a politically and socially controlled community. As the students had the right to kneel, so do others have the right to not agree, and voice it.
The national anthem is sung to strengthen the pride and unity of armed forces protecting of our entire country and ALL its citizens. It is sung, as other countries do, to strengthen a country’s pride. Are we going to kneel at the olympics now? The act of “kneeling” for the majority, during the anthem is deeply disrespectful to the country and those who defend it. It is fine to want to bring change to oppression, but the anthem really is not the venue, this should be off limits.