SNU Students, Athletes Fight Potential Policy That Would Prevent Kneeling During National Anthem

Students at Southern Nazarene University have launched a petition to prevent a potential new policy that would prevent students from kneeling during the national anthem.

Students and student athletes created the petition after some of the women's soccer team knelt during the national anthem at two of their home games.

Members of that team said they became concerned after several meetings with the university's president.

"There hasn't really been any other team that's kneeled but us," said SNU women's soccer team member Alejandra Andrade.

Other members of the team told News 9 the first decision that started everything was made in unity.

"We came to a decision on what each of us what we're going to do and we all knew that we supported each other either way," said soccer team member Maci Attalla.

But eventually there were meetings with university administration including SNU President Dr. Keith Newman. They said the president did ask the team not to kneel.

"In one of our first meetings he mentioned a policy could be put in place," said SNU women's soccer team member Ashlee Ray.

Team members told News 9 that potential policy would prevent them from kneeling or protesting.