Schools
4 Of 5 KSU Cheerleaders Who Knelt For Anthem Not Picked For Squad
Kennesaw State University officials say competition for spots on the cheerleading squad was more competitive than it was last year.
KENNESAW, GA — Four out of the five Kennesaw State University cheerleaders who knelt last year during the National Anthem to protest police violence against minorities were not picked to be part of the squad again in 2018.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that KSU officials said competition for the cheerleading squad's 52 spots was more competitive this year, with 95 students trying out compared to the 61 who tried out last year.
The four cheerleaders were among seven from last year's squad who didn't make the team this year, squad spokesman Davante Lewis told the AJC.
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"While they are disappointed, they’ve accepted it and went on with their academic lives," Lewis said to the paper Wednesday.
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Before a football game on Sept. 30, 2017, five KSU cheerleaders, all of them African-American, took a knee during the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner." The move — part of a national movement highlighted by NFL players who have knelt to protest racial injustice and police brutality — sparked controversy.
The university initially banned cheerleaders from the field before football games, then reversed that decision after widespread condemnation that came from University System of Georgia administrators, national pundits and elsewhere.
KSU President Sam Olens, whose controversy-marred tenure at the school lasted a little over a year, stepped down not long after the controversy made national headlines.
The university system's Board of Regents had launched an investigation into his handling of the protests and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Olens was pressured into his original decision by officials including Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren and state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs.
New KSU President Pamela Whitten, who was hired in June, told the AJC she would be open to meeting with the cheerleaders and other students involved in similar protests.
To read the AJC report, click here.
Photo via Shutterstock
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