A high school football team in San Francisco got behind Colin Kaepernick's protest en masse when every single player on the roster knelt during the national anthem before their game last week.
Mission High School head football coach Greg Hill said the demonstration included the full array of ethnic groups boasted by the team—-black, white, Latino, Asian—-and they have his full support in what he believes is a movement unlike any the country has seen since the 60's.
"I decided I'd stand for them. I'm gonna stand for my team. Throughout the nation, athletes on different levels are finding their voice and recognizing that they have a platform," he said. "We haven't seen this level of athlete activism in nearly half a century. This is a movement."
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A movement, indeed. And one that continues gaining ground.
Last weekend's protest on the 15th anniversary of 9/11—-one of the country's most patriotic days—-underscores how serious this stance has become. More than a dozen NFL players either knelt or raised their fists during the national anthem. And the protest has now trickled down to the scholastic ranks, with high school football players all over the country demonstrating in their own ways.
Coach Hill said that because there's is a team made up of such diverse backgrounds, the protest had significant meaning for him.
"It's important that the whole team did it, he said. We're a diverse team — black, white, Hispanic, Asian — so the fact they all did it? I could only respect them for doing that. They're the future leaders of this country ... so for them to lead the way, it shows change can take place, and it starts with them."
