A recent video of high school football players carrying American flags onto the field before their game has gone viral, and the Burroughs High School football team in Southern California is being celebrated for honoring Old Glory.
The video, posted Oct. 20, now has more than 5.3 million views and 153,000 “shares” on Facebook. It was posted by parent Tina Haugen.
The players are seen running down the stands onto the football field carrying large American flags, while “God Bless the USA” plays over the loudspeakers.
“The kids have been frustrated with what’s going on across the country with players taking a knee,” said Head Coach Todd Mather, according to Todd Starnes. “I told the kids that politics don’t have a place in high school sports. I told them we stand for the national anthem. That’s what you do as an American in this country.”
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the stands – including myself,” Mather added.
Football team carrying American flags (Facebook)
When the song finishes playing, the announcer says everyone is living in “the best country on the face of this Earth.”
“At Burroughs football game – we are standing,” the announcer said. “We are standing for the national anthem.”
There has been a heated controversy in recent weeks over standing during the national anthem at NFL football games.
Hundreds of players have taken a knee or sat down in protest during the national anthem this year.
This was started last year by football player Colin Kaepernick to protest what he believes to be problems in America, namely police brutality and black inequality. Kaepernick was not signed by a professional football team this year.
The protests took on a whole new meaning after President Donald Trump said players should stand during the anthem or be “fired.”
While NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he wants all players to stand for the national anthem, he has since said the National Football League will not be enforcing a rule change that would require them to do so.
