Sorry, The Rampage does not support Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer presents security concerns, and is no longer supported—even by Microsoft. Please download a modern browser such as:
Question of the Week

Question of the Week: Basketball Team Kneeling During the National Anthem

by Daniel Mullins
Communication • 2022

We asked BC Students: What are your thoughts on the controversy surrounding the men’s basketball team kneeling during the national anthem?

  • Aynae Simmons, Communication

    I feel disappointed that the men were protesting something that has been happening in this country for 400-plus years. I am in support of it and believe that the school should have supported them. Them kneeling is not a disrespect to God or this country, and I hope this is a lesson learned.

  • Timothy Gasperson, Music Education

    Like in almost everything, it’s not all black or white. There isn’t a clear wrong side or right side; there are no sides in this discussion. Both camps want the same thing: to bring awareness to the ugly stain of racial injustice in America. The faculty and staff here at the college love each of their students, but out in the community, the racial biases of some in the local populations are much more apparent. But our college was founded with the idea of being a ‘Lighthouse on the Hill.’ We should be a beacon to promote to the ignorant a better way of living and loving our neighbors. Both ‘sides’ here at Bluefield College are of the same team; we’re just debating in what way we can best spread the message to those that need to hear it.

  • Cynthia Brown, Biology

    I feel many times instead of understanding the actual meaning of taking a knee, which is due to social injustices, others drown it in a wrong believe that it is being directed towards the flag and veterans. If anything, those who fought for this country fought for our rights and for our constitution. To direct this to the men’s basketball team, they have a right to peacefully protest, which they did, and I feel no one’s rights should be taken away.

  • Isaiah Rife, Exercise and Sport Science

    A lot comes to my mind when I think about the kneeling of the basketball team, but without the kneeling of the basketball team Bluefield College would not be having the needed conversations that we are having on campus today. I will be the first one to say that I am ignorant to systematic racism as I came from a mainly white, small town not too far from Bluefield, Virginia, but I want to help in the best way that I can to help the college and the students. I want everyone to know that I hear you and I want to help you, no matter what your skin color is or your opinion. As vice president of the SGA (Student Government Association), I have the connections to help you, as long as you are willing to accept my help and the opinions of others. I feel as if some topics on this campus are being handled wrong, and the conversations that people are having about the basketball team kneeling are conversations that will never be justified. There are two controversial sides to this issue and both sides believe that their way is right and the only way, but when people of each group decide to listen and accept everyone’s opinions, that is only when change will happen. Coming from a family with military members, I see the national anthem as respect to those who fight for this country and give everyone the freedoms they have today. I know that everyone has their opinion, and I can only speak for myself, but I believe that the kneeling and the meaning behind the kneeling could have been handled in a more effective way. I agree with Dr. Olive, and I stand with Dr. Olive until this situation is resolved. As your friend, I will kneel with you anywhere and anytime, but not during the national anthem as I honor the friends and family members that serve in the United States military today. I want to meet at the dinner table with students and discuss the issues that they have. I want Bluefield College to unite and grow as one, not separated. The only way that change can happen is through numbers, and I want everyone to know that. I pray that issues can be resolved and tensions deflate as we go throughout the year. I am here with you, not against you.

  • Volante Carroll, Psychology

    In all honesty, I don’t see how expressing an American right raises controversy, but since that’s what we’re going with, then okay. The real controversy is when me and my (men’s basketball) teammates were punished for expressing our freedom of speech. I just don’t see the logic of making us forfeit a game because we use our voices to raise awareness on racial injustice. If you ask me, all the attention that the school has been getting has decimated its reputation on how it addressed the matter in question, and frankly I am not surprised. Me and the rest of my teammates kneeled because of what took place last summer — the killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the shooting of Jacob — and on January 6 when the whole country saw that. It just goes to show we live in a society of double standards. Honestly, I just saw a bunch of Trump supporters exercising their white privilege and storm the Capitol building claiming to be protesters when they were really domestic terrorists. Now, if those people had been blacks or Muslims, the stairs, hallways, and lawn would have been smeared with blood. Heck, those groups probably wouldn’t have made it close to the Capitol. It’s just sad that me and teammates were punished for kneeling during the anthem because we know that the saying “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and the word “unity” only apply to some in this country, and we were just sick and tired of standing for a country that just racially oppresses us and only sees the color of our skin and doesn’t know who we truly are.

Join the conversation. Share your thoughts below. You must have and be logged in to a Rampage account.

Close Magazine