DeSOTO, Texas (AP) — More than a dozen students on a Dallas-area volleyball team in a predominantly black school district took a knee as the national anthem played before a match.
Many DeSoto High School players knelt before Tuesday night’s matchup with Grand Prairie, which DeSoto later won.
DeSoto Independent School District Superintendent David Harris, in a statement Wednesday, said he respects the rights of the girls to conduct what he calls a “peaceful” and “non-confrontational” action.
Some athletes across the U.S. have knelt during the national anthem to draw attention to racial inequality.
Spokeswoman Beth Trimble says DeSoto ISD has received comments of support and discord in response to the kneeling.
The district, with enrollment of nearly 9,900, is 78 percent African-American, 17 percent Hispanic, 3 percent white and the rest other ethnicities.
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