Walker, who is sidelined with a fractured finger, and the Lower Merion players crafted a written statement regarding their stand.
At the end of the day, we're still a basketball team."
The T-shirt has brought some clarity to the players' reasoning. I respect the opinions of others."ĭowner added, "This is not out of disrespect to the military. "Before the T-shirt, the coaches were hearing about in certain situations," Downer said. Negative feedback, of course, has come with the players' actions. While only Aces senior reserve guard Najja Walker-X kneeled during the national anthem Tuesday, a few more had done the same in previous games. "The kids decided they wanted to do this, and we support what they're doing." "We've had some very good conversations about this behind closed doors," longtime Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer said. The players are responding to the current unrest regarding the president's recent travel ban and other social movements that have caused many political demonstrations around the country and the world. The kids were in fact very open, honest and forthright." Young added, "The conversations the kids had before they started doing this were very powerful. "The district supports and respects our students' right to express themselves and share their voices in an appropriate manner," Doug Young, the Lower Merion School District communications director and an assistant coach for the basketball team, said in a statement Wednesday. The players interlocked arms during the playing of the national anthem Tuesday night at Marple Newtown, with one kneeling in a sign of protest. Wearing those T-shirts in their last four games, the Aces have expressed their message of solidarity for refugees and immigrants. They came out for warm-ups wearing black T-shirts with white lettering, with these words on the front: "I am a Muslim.
The Lower Merion boys' basketball players created a stir before the opening tip of the Central League championship game Tuesday against Strath Haven.
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