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High School Football Players Who Were Suspended for Carrying First Responder Flags Say They Think They “Did the Right Thing”
The two high school football players in Ohio, suspended for carrying a “Thin Blue Line” and a “Thin Red Line” flag across the field, said they think they “did the right thing.”
Jarad Bentley and Brady Williams intended to honor the fallen heroes who died in the 9/11 attacks. They asked permission to carry the flags, but they were not allowed. They carried the flags across the field anyway – prompting Little Miami High School in Morrow, Ohio to suspend them.
“We wanted to carry out flags to honor the first responders who went towards danger instead of running from it 19 years ago, and we were told ‘no’ and we kind of took that to heart,” said Williams, whose father is a sheriff’s deputy. “We still wanted to honor them and so we did.”
Bentley's father is a firefighter. He said, “if it was my dad that had died trying to save those people, I wanted someone to honor him in that way as well.”
School Officials Explain Suspension
In a statement, Little Miami Schools officials said, “While the district understands these students’ desire show their support of our first responders especially on the anniversary of 9/11, they did not obtain permission from district officials to do this. School administrators must act when students break the rules, and these students were suspended from practice while the incident was investigated.”
Bentley acknowledges that he and Williams did not follow the rules. However, he emphasized that they “did it to honor those who died 19 years ago.”
“So in our eyes, we think we did the right thing,” he said.
According to Williams, carrying the flags on the field was “100%” worth it. He then added, “if I would have the chance to do it again, I would.”
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