Lansing City Council honors football players who knelt during anthem to protest racism

LANSING — City Council honored four black Lansing Catholic High School football players who were punished by their school after kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism.

On Monday night, council adopted a resolution, which referred to the students as the "Lansing Catholic High School 4."

Lansing Catholic High School told students this year they would be penalized if they refused to stand for the national anthem before football games.

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Senior Michael Lynn III, senior Matthew Abdullah, junior Kabbash Richards and senior Roje Williams knelt before several games this season to call attention to racial injustice. As a result, the school prohibited the boys from starting during some games and, in certain cases, appeared to reduce their playing time. 

“There are people that have called our actions disrespectful and I ask that those people find the disrespect in the injustices that we are calling attention to," Lynn said during Monday's city council meeting.

The athletes said they hoped the protest would lead to reforms at Lansing Catholic, including a greater emphasis on diversity, as it pertains to the faculty, students and curriculum. In November, the school's principal sent an email to announce the formation of a "multicultural diversity student group."

Two of the students, Lynn and Abdullah, have since transferred to Sexton and Holt high schools, respectively. 

Lansing Catholic sent a letter to parents this month, which doubled down on the anti-kneeling policy. Students who kneel during the anthem at winter sports games will be barred from participating in that game, according to the letter.

NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick inspired a wave of similar demonstrations after he began taking a knee during the anthem to protest police shootings of unarmed black men.

City Council also honored students who said they knelt during the pledge at Immaculate Heart of Mary-St. Casimir School in Lansing. The Catholic K-8 School told parents in November that students would be sent home for the day if they refused to stand during the pledge and national anthem.

Monday's presentation included remarks from the Lansing-area chapters of Black Lives Matter and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter  @SarahGLehr.