Young athletes across the country have joined Colin Kaepernick’s effort to stand up against police brutality by taking a knee during the national anthem. For one team of young players in Beaumont, Texas, doing so may have cost them the rest of their season.
The Beaumont Bulls, a team of 11- and 12-year-old boys, told their head coach Rah-Rah Barber that they wanted to take a knee before a game on September 10, according to Bleacher Report. The team was granted permission to protest from the Beaumont Bulls board.
After news of the protest went viral ― Kaepernick himself retweeted stories about it ― the team started receiving criticism and even death threats to the coaches and players’ lives, a parent told ABC.
The team’s board, which is predominantly black, issued a statement to local station KFDM, condemning the threats and saying that they “will continue to support” the team. Board president Seterria Anderson also issued a statement after the committee met to discuss the protest and the safety of the players.
Anderson told KFDM that nothing was resolved at the meeting, but “the Senior team will continue to kneel, if they choose to, at the playing of the National Anthem.”
Parents told Bleacher Report that the board said they would suspend the team and ultimately cancel their season if protests continued, per the orders of the Bay Area Football League, their parent organization. However, league president Tony Patino told The Huffington Post that “no mandates or orders were given to suspend any coach or player.”
The league issued a statement the day after the board’s meeting, asserting that the team’s “actions are clearly not in violation of any regulation, rules or policies” and that the league hadn’t had a reason to meet with the board or the team.
Despite the board’s threats, the players told their coaches they still wanted to kneel before their game on September 17. This time, some players knelt while other stood behind them and locked arms.
A coach told Bleacher Report that they didn’t discourage the team’s protest because “We can’t teach them to [quit].”
Several days later, after another meeting, the board suspended head coach Rah-Rah Barber.
Barber told the sports outlet that the board thought he lost control of the team. But, in an email to parents, the board said his suspension was due to the “improper removal” of a coach and player and the result of a text message that wasn’t sent to the entire team.
The team protested Barber’s suspension by not attending practice.
Anderson, whose son is a player, told Beaumont Enterprise the season got canceled because several players quit and the Bulls didn’t have enough players.
Patino told HuffPost that “there was never a league or club mandate to end the season.” He added, “The coach and parents made a decision to leave the team. They went to another team four weeks ago without returning the Bulls equipment. When they found out there was only one game left in the other team’s schedule they released a false statement to the New York Daily News.”
April Parkerson, a team parent, told the Beaumont Enterprise that the protest was indeed the reason that the season ended. Parkerson told The Huffington Post that though parents considered going to another team, that didn’t happen and none of the players quit.
“We protested for one week, but instead of the executive board meeting with our senior players and parents to discuss what compromise could be made, they simply canceled our season...”
Parkerson said the players haven’t joined the team because it’s late in the season. She also told Beaumont Enterprise the kids are waiting until the end of the season to return equipment the parents because kids still have hope that they will be able to play with their old coach.
HuffPost reached out to the Beaumont Bulls Board but didn’t immediately get a response.
This article has been updated with new information from April Parkerson.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.