Ohio Student-Athletes Still Standing

 Two football players were originally suspended after they carried "thin blue line" and "thin red line" flags onto the field last week. The game was part of the school's "Patriot Night" according to a story on Cincinnati.com. The suspensions have since been lifted.

According to school officials, the American flag is the first to go through the tunnel every game. The players, Brady Williams and Jarad Bentley, were suspended for carrying the flags after being denied permission.

Photo: WLWT

A spokesperson for Little Miami said the school was, "saddened to see this story take such a negative turn," and that the school, "enjoys an outstanding relationship with... police and fire agencies... Little Miami always has - and always will - support our first responders... and all who sacrifice to maintain our freedoms."

This suspension should never have happened in the first place. These are teenagers, sons of a policeman (Williams) and a fireman (Bentley). They wanted to show support for their fathers and other first responders. The school suspended the players for the old "violating school policy". The school punished the students and administrators couldn't even speak for themselves on the matter. They needed a spokesperson. Did these administrators, those responsible for teaching students of Morrow, Ohio, speak to a consultant before handing down the original punishment? I doubt it, but when the residents wanted to know why their act was so egregious that these students deserved to be punished, the administrators backed off and reversed their original decision.

Good for these students. They did nothing wrong. The school, through their spokesperson boasts about their "outstanding relationship". The school, "always has - and always will - support (their) first responders." And yet, when two boys decide they will openly support their fathers - fathers who work a job so dangerous that it makes their families wonder if they will see them the next day - the "leaders" punish them and then hire someone to explain why they punished the students for violating rules put in place by the aforementioned leaders. I would love to see these leaders tell the first responders how much they "support" them. I would love to hear these explanations and examples after attempting to punish students for carrying these flags onto the playing field.

I would also like to have been in the room when permission was asked and then denied. What were the reasons for not giving permission? Because the American flag goes first. Okay. I can understand that, but aren't there exceptions to the rule. How many firefighters and police officers died on September 11, 2001? (380) What is the problem with carrying banners that represent the police and firefighters, the ones that ran to the danger of the collapsing buildings while others were running in the opposite direction?

Some have cited race as the reason for the trouble with the flag and the suspension. One black parent said the "Thin Blue Line" flag "represents a rebuttal to the 'Black Lives Matter' movement and alienates black students." The support for the students is coming from "almost all white folks" according the  parent. Eighty nine percent of the students at the school are white. Of course most of the support is going to be white. They make up a majority of the school's demographics. The school's county is also accusing the superintendent, Greg Power of a "double standard" because Power wrote an open letter citing the need to address racial injustice. Fine. Discuss it. Bring the police into a meeting with the community and bring your issues and concerns out to the open. Have a dialogue, but speak for yourself and don't hire someone to do it for you. And try to punish someone again when they want to support their family.