Credit: WOIO
With the nation still collectively freaking out over Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest, Rodney Axson Jr., a high school senior playing football for Brunswick, joined the NFL player. On Sept. 2, WOIO reports, following a locker room discussion with his own teammates about their use of racial slurs, Axson and two other teammates took a knee during the national anthem.

His action garnered racial harassment and a wave of media attention. The schools, the local police department and the NAACP have stepped in to investigate the causes of Axson’s protest and the aftermath.


One resounding sentiment, mirroring the Kaepernick story: People insisting that Americans don’t have the right to “disrespect” the national anthem. It’s more manufactured outrage, and it misses Axson’s point entirely. 

This article appears in Sep 7-13, 2016.

Eric Sandy is an award-winning Cleveland-based journalist. For a while, he was the managing editor of Scene. He now contributes jam band features every now and then.

2 replies on “Brunswick Schools Investigating Racism Against Football Player Who Kneeled During National Anthem”

  1. Another failure for public education. These students don’t seem to have any knowledge of the First Amendment and what it means.

Comments are closed.