It’s not just NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem these days. In Mississippi, three high school players put a knee to the ground before a game under the Friday night lights.
Several Pass Christian football players took a knee when the Star Spangled Banner played before kickoff in a home game against Bay High.
Pass Christian school officials had talked to players before the game and thought it had effectively instructed and encouraged all to stand, according to a statement from the school. But as it turned out, three players took a knee.
After the game, the high school made an official statement on social media saying the school does not think kneeling before a football game is the right place “or time for such action.”
“We encourage parents to talk with their children about all that the protest represents and what our flag means to find more productive measures…” the school said in a tweeted statement.

Former NFL player Colin Kaepernick became the first to kneel during the national anthem last season. He did so to protest the mistreatment of African Americans in the United States. Last week President Donald Trump criticized Kaepernick and others who kneel during the national anthem, saying fans should boycott games.
Many NFL players and teams united against Trump, linking arms during the anthem while many more kneeled. The entire Dallas Cowboys team kneeled together before the game. But the practice has been booed by fans and is controversial since many claim like Trump it is unpatriotic.
Pass Christian High officials had hoped to avert kneeling but three players decided to do it anyway and the school spoke out in response afterward.
The school hopes parents will help players better understand things like “the importance of voting and truthful dialogue with others.”