Two Houston-area high school football players kicked out their team in protest

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Two black Houston-area players were kicked off their private Christian high school’s football team after protesting during the national anthem, with one kneeling and the other raising his head fist, local media reported on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump last week denounced National Football League players who kneel or protest during the national anthem, an action some black players took last year to protest racial injustice in America.

Victory and Praise Christian Academy head coach Ronnie Mitchem asked players to remove their uniforms after their protest Friday night, television station KTRK reported.

Mitchem, a U.S. Army veteran, had told his players not to protest because it would be offensive to him and other military veterans. “I also have personal opinions and, as an American, I am entitled to those opinions,” Mitchem told the TV station.

The school is located in Crosby, Texas, northeast of Houston.

One of the players, Cedric Ingram-Lewis, told the TV station that he comes from a family of veterans and active-duty military, “and they think what we did is good.” .

Many students on the school’s football team are home-schooled, KTRK reported.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; editing by Will Dunham)