Eight Ole Miss players take knee during anthem
Members of the Ole Miss men’s basketball team take a knee during the national anthem before their game vs. Georgia. (1:08)
Eight players from the Ole Miss men’s basketball team knelt during the national anthem before Saturday’s home game against Georgia.
Minutes before the game, both teams formed lines for the anthem. As “The Star-Spangled Banner” began, six Rebels players — who appeared to be KJ Buffen, D.C. Davis, Brian Halums, Luis Rodriguez, Devontae Shuler and Bruce Stevens — knelt one by one. Two more players — appearing to be Breein Tyree and Franco Miller Jr. — also took a knee as the song entered its final line.
The reason for their action was not immediately known, though the game was being played while two pro-Confederate groups marched toward the Oxford campus.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, the groups were protesting “Ole Miss’ discontinuation of Colonel Reb as its mascot and other efforts the university has taken to distance itself from Confederate heritage.”
Various student groups held counterprotests on campus Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, one began on the city square and ended at the Confederate monument in the heart of the Ole Miss campus.
Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis, who took the job in March, had said during his introductory news conference that his team would be one “that respects the flag and the national anthem.” Davis had also emphasized standing for the national anthem in his previous position at Middle Tennessee State.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.