High school cancels 9/11 tribute at football game over fears it would be 'racially insensitive'



A high school in Washington state canceled a 9/11 tribute after school staff reportedly feared the tribute would be seen as "racially insensitive."

What are the details?

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, students at Eastlake High School in Sammamish — a town east of Seattle — were prepared to wear red, white, and blue for a football game scheduled for Sept. 10.

"Red, White, and Blue Friday!" an Instagram post from the school said. "Dress in your USA best!"

However, Eastlake staff pulled the plug on the tribute over fears that supporting America by wearing red, white, and blue could "unintentionally cause offense to some who see it differently," KTTH-AM reported.

Students reportedly learned of the decision on the morning of the game.

What was the reaction?

Students and parents were understandably upset by the last-minute decision.

"At this point, I was fairly upset and confused as to why the theme was changed so I went around asking students in our leadership," one student told KTTH. "They had explained that red, white, and blue was going to be seen as racially insensitive and may affect people in a way that we will not understand and for that reason that we were to change our theme."

"I was fairly upset and ended up not attending the game," another student said.

"There is always the potential that someone may be offended by something but this decision baffles me," one mother told KTTH. "I would argue that many more people are offended by the decision to ban the theme of wearing red, white and blue. If there is one thing that has the potential to unite us all, it's that we are Americans."

One parent, writing on Facebook, reportedly speculated the decision was made to not offend the other school's football team.

"The leadership and equity team decided that since it was against a predominantly black team they did not want to 'unintentionally cause offense to some who see [our flag] differently,'" that parent speculated.

What did the school say?

Upset parents who reached out to administration at Eastlake High School received the same response, a statement that said:

I understand your concerns and frustration. Our leadership teachers made this decision and explained it to students. I know tomorrow is 9/11 and understand the sacrifice and values our flag represents, but I think they just did not want to unintentionally cause offense to some who see it differently.

It's actually not clear who decided to cancel the tribute. District communications director Shannon Parthemer told KTTH it was a single staff member, whom she did not identify.

Still, Parthemer defended the decision by citing a lack of time to explain why students would be dressed in red, white, and blue.

"Since it was not a home game, there was no opportunity to have an announcement about Patriot's Day and to share why students were dressed in red, white, and blue," she told KTTH.

After high school suspends football players for carrying Thin Blue, Red Line flags, a local group awards scholarships to the two teens



An Ohio nonprofit group has awarded a scholarship to the two Little Miami High School football players who were suspended from school after carrying a Thin Blue Line flag and a Thin Red Line flag before a Sept. 11 game.

What's a brief history here?

Brady Williams, whose father is a sheriff's deputy, and Jarad Bentley, whose father is a fireman, insisted that they wanted to honor those killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Following the move, school authorities suspended the two and in a statement said that the teens were turned down when they initially requested to fly the flags before the game.

Superintendent Gregory Power said, "We can't have students who decide to do something anyway after they've been told they shouldn't be doing it. ... We did not want to place ourselves in a circumstance where another family might want a different flag to come out of the tunnel, one that may be [one that] other families may not agree with from a political perspective."

Following outcry, the administration rescinded the suspension order and permitted the teens to return to school.

Two Little Miami football players pay the price for civil disobedience. They were told not to carry onto the field… https://t.co/xIlsNPIF9d
— David Winter (@David Winter)1600119515.0

What are the details?

On Friday, an Ohio nonprofit group called "Holiday for Heroes" announced it would be awarding the teens a scholarship for their support of police officers and firefighters.

In a statement, the group said, "Brady and Jarad are true PATRIOTS, they did something last Friday that showed they are far beyond their years. These men stood up for a cause they believe in. As they took the field with flags in hand it reminded us how we felt 19 years ago, heartbroken yet strong and united."

According to Fox News, "Holiday for Heroes" has not yet disclosed the scholarship amounts.

Previous scholarship awards have been issued in the amounts of $2,500 and $5,000, according to the group's website.

Last week, the two told "Fox & Friends" that they found a lot of support in the community following the dust-up.

"We wanted to carry out flags to honor the first responders who went towards danger instead of running from it 19 years ago, and we were told 'No' and we kind of took that to heart and we still wanted to honor them and so we did," Williams said during the appearance.

Bentley said he felt compelled to carry the flags "because if it was my dad that had died trying to save those people, I wanted someone to honor him in that way as well."