Tennessee GOP Lawmakers Want To Ban Student-Athletes From Kneeling Following ETSU Protest [View all]

Republican state senators want university athletes to be punished for protesting while at sporting events.

Every GOP member of the Tennessee Senate has signed a letter after the men’s basketball team at East Tennessee State University knelt during the national anthem.

State Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, is one of the signees. During a hearing Monday, he said he supports the right of student athletes to protest, as long as it is during their free time.

“Most of us are thinking that when you are in that uniform and you are acting as an ambassador for the university and the state, there possibly is a line there that differentiates that freedom of speech,” Crowe said.

Read more: https://wpln.org/post/tennessee-gop-lawmakers-want-to-ban-student-athletes-from-kneeling-following-etsu-protest/