Where are the Warrior's During the National Anthem?

The National Anthem has always been an essential part of starting a sports game. It is played to show how patriotic our country is, and it started as a baseball ritual, eventually spreading to other sporting events. Today, this battle song is still played before every game, while the fans and players stand with their hand over their heart.

Should the Norwalk High School football team be required to stand on the field during the national anthem? All of the fans in the stands have their hand over their heart, while the football players are in the locker room.

In the NFL, an adopted policy states that “all players and team personnel are required to stand and respect the flag and the anthem” (ESPN). NFL players are seen as role models for some high school football players, yet they are not taking on the tradition that NFL teams (and other sports teams) participate in. Norwalk’s policy also states that all athletes stand for the national anthem, but why is there an exception for football players?

After asking multiple football players at Norwalk High School about their objective for staying in the locker room, they all have responded with the answer that they say a prayer instead. While this is a valid tradition that the football team does, and is valued greatly by these athletes, should they also come out for the national anthem? For the past week, we have also asked multiple non-football players about their opinions on the football team coming out for the national anthem. Some believe that it is fair due to the prayer tradition that takes place instead, however some also believe that it is unfair because every other varsity team at Norwalk stands for the national anthem and respects the flag besides the football team.

Although athletes are able to protest and have their freedom, the Norwalk football team is not choosing to stay in the locker room to protest, but rather to show their values of religion, which is respectable. Many students have different opinions and this shows how many different points of view Norwalk students have.