Fans of the Saugus High School football team are pushed back on Friday after a California school district banned the team from carrying a “thin blue line” flag onto the pregame field — a tradition honoring law enforcement at the games since 2019, when the high school suffered a deadly mass shooting that left two students and the gunman dead.
The move to prohibit the team from carrying the flag came late last month, when William S. Hart Union High School District Superintendent Mike Kuhlman, prompted by claims that the flag makes some “uncomfortable” and comments from people like Black Lives Matter Los Angeles co-founder Melina Abdullah, who told Politico the symbol of support for police officers “feels akin to a Confederate flag,” penned a letter and trashed the tradition.
(Video: KTLA)
“While many embrace the symbol as simply a celebration of law enforcement, others have shared their feeling that the symbol has sometimes been co-opted by intolerant individuals with an agenda to divide and exclude,” Kuhlman wrote, according to KTLA. “I’ve personally spoken with some individuals who shared their feeling that the symbol makes them feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.”
One such individual may have been local resident Duncan Madel, who voiced his dislike of the flag on Facebook.
“There is absolutely no reason for this image to be carried out onto the field by players or used on cheer blocks. Get loud,” Madel wrote, according to the Daily Mail. “What message are we sending to our kids if we sit back and allow this divisiveness to continue. Do something! This is simply not a First Amendment issue.”
After a conversation between the high school’s principal and the head coach of the school’s team, the Centurions, the decision to prohibit the flag from the games was made.
“In deference to his commitment to inclusivity, kindness and respect (just loving people), and because the team never voted as a unit to carry this banner, Coach decided to discontinue this practice,” Kuhlman said.
But fans of the Centurions — and the practice of honoring law enforcement — aren’t ready to cave to a woke mob.
Many brought their own flags to Friday’s game.
“I just don’t understand it,” one supporter told KTLA. “This whole world has gone nuts as far as I’m concerned.”
Lexi Hawk’s 16-year-old son, Wyatt, was the one who typically carried the banner.
According to Hawk, the team was never made aware of the decision until after it was made.
“Saying that we’re disrespecting other people is ridiculous … Nobody discussed it,” she told KTLA. “It was not a roundtable discussion, therefore without a discussion, there is no democracy.”
In his letter, Kuhlman stressed that the district does support law enforcement.
“It is important to support law enforcement,” he said. Those of us with first-hand memories of November 2019 will never forget their heroic response and can be nothing but thankful for their selfless acts of service.”
Still, the flag had to go, because, apparently, some folks have feelings about it.
“We appreciate where everybody is coming from, and we’ll continue to have that dialogue, because we want to find ways to honor our law enforcement and welcome the opinions of everybody, which I think you see here tonight,” Deputy Superintendent of Schools Michael Vierra told KTLA.
Said one fan, the situation has gotten out of control.
“It’s not about backing something and saying everything else is bad,” said Ron Marome. “It’s just about saying, ‘hey, we support the blue line.’ That’s it.”
“It was that simple,” he stated. “It turned into something it shouldn’t have turned into.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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