Bluefield College lose basketball game after players were suspended for kneeling during the national anthem

Bluefield College lost a men’s basketball game on Thursday after the NAIA School suspended several players for kneeling during the national anthems before games over the past two months. School president David Olive has revealed that he has told players on the team to stop kneeling before games.

When the players refused, Olive made the decision to suspend the players who had chosen to kneel, which led to the team’s match against Reinhardt University being canceled.

“The basis for my decision stemmed from my own awareness of how some in our country perceive kneeling, and I didn’t think a number of our alumni, friends and college donors would view the act of s ‘Kneel down during the anthem in a positive way,’ Olive said in a statement.

Olive spoke to players, coaches and the school’s athletic director, Tonia Walker, about kneeling during the national anthem. Even after these talks, he still made the decision to suspend players for their actions.

Initially, Olive was unaware that the players were on their knees during the national anthem. However, on February 1, he became aware of the fact that players had kneeled in the previous three games, two of which were on the road. After learning of the recent kneeling, Olive spoke with head coach Richard Morgan and told him that kneeling during the hymn would not be tolerated.

After Olive made her statement clear to the team, the players at Bluefield College chose to ignore Olive’s order. On February 4, Morgan made the decision to keep his team in the locker room during the national anthem in order to avoid backlash.

“I further told them that their message to raise awareness of racial injustices was watered down or completely lost because some saw their act of kneeling as disrespecting the flag, our country and our veterans,” said Olive in the press release. “In my opinion, their message was not heard.”

The team most recently knelt before Tuesday’s game against the Tennessee Wesleyan. After the game, Olive told Morgan the players would face “consequences.”