Kentucky players sought unity, but knew kneeling during anthem would also divide
BY JERRY TIPTON
JANUARY 11, 2021 02:34 PM,
UPDATED JANUARY 11, 2021 06:27 PM
Play Video
Duration 1:14
UK's Olivier Sarr says team expected criticism for kneeling during national anthem
Kentucky basketball senior Olivier Sarr says the team knew some people would be mad that the Wildcats knelt for national anthem before the game at Florida on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. UK plays host to Alabama on Tuesday. BY JOHN CLAY | UK ATHLETICS
Olivier Sarr saw significance in how every Kentucky player and coach knelt behind a baseline during the playing of the national anthem before Saturday’s game at Florida.
“I think it sends a big message,” he said during a teleconference Monday. “We’re a unit and that’s what we want this country to be.”
Of course, the gesture divided the Big Blue Nation. Messages of support and opposition were posted on social media.
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‘It was something I couldn’t refuse.’ Olivier Sarr discusses path to UK, looks ahead.
On Sunday, Laurel County sheriff John Root and jailer Jamie Mosley held a “burning party” in which UK memorabilia was destroyed. “I honestly can’t believe a team from Kentucky (the Hillbilly State) took a knee to our National Anthem with the American flag displayed,” Root posted on Facebook.
Mosley posted, “I back the real team in blue,” presumably meaning the police.
Sarr said the Kentucky team expected something less than 100-percent support.
“Well, you know, we understood our gesture would have consequences,” Sarr said. “And that we just want people to understand. We knew some people would be mad or pissed at what we did.
“But we just want people to understand that it’s just a peaceful way to protest in a way we can using our platform.”
When asked why the players wanted to make the gesture, Isaiah Jackson spoke directly.
The aim, he said, was to “try to get through to everybody that we need equality just like everybody else.
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“This is a great country. I feel like — and we feel like — minorities and stuff don’t have equal rights like everybody else. That’s what we’re protesting, and that’s why we kneel.”
Sarr did not rule out the team kneeling again before a future game. Kentucky next plays Tuesday night against Alabama in Rupp Arena.
“We will see what we do for other games,” Sarr said. “Whether we do it once, twice or every time, our mind and our focus is on that gesture and toward those issues at all times.”
Kentucky’s players and coaches kneeled during the national anthem ahead of the team’s game against Florida. Chet White UK ATHLETICS
Kentucky Coach John Calipari said during his Monday night radio show that the players kneeling “wasn’t about the military. . . . Six of the players come from military families. . . . This came from their heart, and it was peaceful. They did it to pull people together.
“. . . At the end of the day, what are you doing to bring people together. . . . I don’t want these kids to be in anything that separates.”
Calipari said he and the players talked about their statement Monday. The UK coach said he told the players, “Let’s get on to basketball.”
Kentucky is hardly the first team nor the Wildcats the first players to make a symbolic protest during the national anthem.
Neither the Southeastern Conference nor the NCAA has a rule about how players should conduct themselves during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Ole Miss players knelt during the national anthem before a game against Georgia on Feb. 23, 2019.
On the same day, a pro-Confederacy gathering protested on the Ole Miss campus and in Oxford in reaction to the school distancing itself from Confederate-themed history and symbols.
More recently, Ole Miss athletes across several sports had a peaceful march/demonstration in the name of social justice in August.
Prior to a football game against Florida on Sept. 30, both teams agreed to a protest on the field in which Ole Miss voluntarily took a delay of game penalty before the opening kickoff. Florida, as was previously agreed, declined the penalty.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick drew widespread attention when he knelt during the anthem before preseason games in 2016. Various other teams in several sports have since engaged in similar demonstrations.
On the college level, three volleyball players for West Virginia Tech knelt during the anthem in September of 2016. Similar protests have been staged by 19 band members for East Carolina and Nebraska football players.
According to Wikipedia, College of the Ozarks president Jerry Davis announced in September of 2017 that teams representing the school would not play an opponent whose players knelt during the anthem.
The NAIA then moved its Division II men’s basketball championship game from College of the Ozarks to Sioux Falls, S.D.
Sarr, who grew up in France, said that racism was not unique to the United States.
“You always have minorities that are being treated not as equal to other people,” he said. “We are in a position to raise awareness, and that’s all we’re trying to do. But it’s not just talking. We also need actions behind it.”
In his Facebook posting, Root criticized Calipari’s stance on the protest. “Until we get a real man to lead the cats and a real team, you will not see me back in no UK junk,” the Laurel County sheriff wrote. That presumably meant he would not wear clothing carrying a UK logo or message.
Sarr expressed gratitude that Calipari not only permitted the Kentucky players to kneel at Florida, but also went down on a knee.
“What I think was really powerful was Coach (Calipari) doing it with us …,” Sarr said. “He took it with heart. He did it for us. … It’s showing that we’re all together on this.
“We just want to be treated equally. That’s the most important thing to get out of this, really.”
BY JERRY TIPTON
JANUARY 11, 2021 02:34 PM,
UPDATED JANUARY 11, 2021 06:27 PM
Play Video
Duration 1:14
UK's Olivier Sarr says team expected criticism for kneeling during national anthem
Kentucky basketball senior Olivier Sarr says the team knew some people would be mad that the Wildcats knelt for national anthem before the game at Florida on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. UK plays host to Alabama on Tuesday. BY JOHN CLAY | UK ATHLETICS
Olivier Sarr saw significance in how every Kentucky player and coach knelt behind a baseline during the playing of the national anthem before Saturday’s game at Florida.
“I think it sends a big message,” he said during a teleconference Monday. “We’re a unit and that’s what we want this country to be.”
Of course, the gesture divided the Big Blue Nation. Messages of support and opposition were posted on social media.
TOP ARTICLES
SKIP AD
‘It was something I couldn’t refuse.’ Olivier Sarr discusses path to UK, looks ahead.
On Sunday, Laurel County sheriff John Root and jailer Jamie Mosley held a “burning party” in which UK memorabilia was destroyed. “I honestly can’t believe a team from Kentucky (the Hillbilly State) took a knee to our National Anthem with the American flag displayed,” Root posted on Facebook.
Mosley posted, “I back the real team in blue,” presumably meaning the police.
Sarr said the Kentucky team expected something less than 100-percent support.
“Well, you know, we understood our gesture would have consequences,” Sarr said. “And that we just want people to understand. We knew some people would be mad or pissed at what we did.
“But we just want people to understand that it’s just a peaceful way to protest in a way we can using our platform.”
When asked why the players wanted to make the gesture, Isaiah Jackson spoke directly.
The aim, he said, was to “try to get through to everybody that we need equality just like everybody else.
UK Sports newsletter
Daily updates, analysis, exclusives, video and more devoted to University of Kentucky sports.
SIGN UP
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
“This is a great country. I feel like — and we feel like — minorities and stuff don’t have equal rights like everybody else. That’s what we’re protesting, and that’s why we kneel.”
Sarr did not rule out the team kneeling again before a future game. Kentucky next plays Tuesday night against Alabama in Rupp Arena.
“We will see what we do for other games,” Sarr said. “Whether we do it once, twice or every time, our mind and our focus is on that gesture and toward those issues at all times.”
Kentucky’s players and coaches kneeled during the national anthem ahead of the team’s game against Florida. Chet White UK ATHLETICS
Kentucky Coach John Calipari said during his Monday night radio show that the players kneeling “wasn’t about the military. . . . Six of the players come from military families. . . . This came from their heart, and it was peaceful. They did it to pull people together.
“. . . At the end of the day, what are you doing to bring people together. . . . I don’t want these kids to be in anything that separates.”
Calipari said he and the players talked about their statement Monday. The UK coach said he told the players, “Let’s get on to basketball.”
Kentucky is hardly the first team nor the Wildcats the first players to make a symbolic protest during the national anthem.
Neither the Southeastern Conference nor the NCAA has a rule about how players should conduct themselves during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Ole Miss players knelt during the national anthem before a game against Georgia on Feb. 23, 2019.
On the same day, a pro-Confederacy gathering protested on the Ole Miss campus and in Oxford in reaction to the school distancing itself from Confederate-themed history and symbols.
More recently, Ole Miss athletes across several sports had a peaceful march/demonstration in the name of social justice in August.
Prior to a football game against Florida on Sept. 30, both teams agreed to a protest on the field in which Ole Miss voluntarily took a delay of game penalty before the opening kickoff. Florida, as was previously agreed, declined the penalty.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick drew widespread attention when he knelt during the anthem before preseason games in 2016. Various other teams in several sports have since engaged in similar demonstrations.
On the college level, three volleyball players for West Virginia Tech knelt during the anthem in September of 2016. Similar protests have been staged by 19 band members for East Carolina and Nebraska football players.
According to Wikipedia, College of the Ozarks president Jerry Davis announced in September of 2017 that teams representing the school would not play an opponent whose players knelt during the anthem.
The NAIA then moved its Division II men’s basketball championship game from College of the Ozarks to Sioux Falls, S.D.
Sarr, who grew up in France, said that racism was not unique to the United States.
“You always have minorities that are being treated not as equal to other people,” he said. “We are in a position to raise awareness, and that’s all we’re trying to do. But it’s not just talking. We also need actions behind it.”
In his Facebook posting, Root criticized Calipari’s stance on the protest. “Until we get a real man to lead the cats and a real team, you will not see me back in no UK junk,” the Laurel County sheriff wrote. That presumably meant he would not wear clothing carrying a UK logo or message.
Sarr expressed gratitude that Calipari not only permitted the Kentucky players to kneel at Florida, but also went down on a knee.
“What I think was really powerful was Coach (Calipari) doing it with us …,” Sarr said. “He took it with heart. He did it for us. … It’s showing that we’re all together on this.
“We just want to be treated equally. That’s the most important thing to get out of this, really.”
