Norristown Native Rejects Invitation Back To Albright After Taking A Knee

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Norristown native and backup quarterback on Albright College's football team has rejected an offer to return to the team after being dismissed for kneeling during the national anthem earlier this month.

Gyree Durante, a sophomore, told the Reading Eagle that "it (wouldn't) be a good thing for me to be back on the team."

"I might be a distraction right now," he reportedly said. "And I know there are some players who said they lost trust in me."

Two other players from the team were also dismissed in the wake of Durante's dismissal, and similarly they were invited back. It's not yet clear if those players will accept the offer.

Durante was cut after kneeling during the anthem before Albright's 45-7 loss to Delaware Valley University on Oct. 7.

Days later, Albright said that the team's "leadership council," which consists of 24 players, had agreed to kneel during the coin toss and then stand during the anthem. Durante's kneeling during the anthem was out of step with the rest of the team.

However, after Durante's dismissal, there was significant pushback from the public and the college community, according to a statement by school President Jacquelyn Fetrow.

"What we understood to be shared agreement among players, student leaders, and coaches has not been adequately supported," she wrote in the statement. "While we focused on the issue of trust and shared agreement on a football field, much larger issues of social and racial injustice were brought into the spotlight. These must be addressed."

Fetrow said the college was reexamining their policies to ensure that they "fully aligned with (the school's) core values," which she went on to describe as the "combined pursuit of truth and justice."

The incident comes in the midst of a tumultuous NFL season which has seen weekly controversy over pre-game protests by players, coaches, and staff.

NFL protests first garnered national attention last year when quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem, calling it a motion of solidarity with people of color who had been oppressed. In particular, the protest zeroed in on recent cases of police brutality against African-Americans. As protests continued into 2017, President Trump has said team owners should order players to stand.

Albright, a Division III school, is based in Reading.

Patch file photo