At High School Game, Parents Share Varying Views About Anthem Protests
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - While grown ups argued about football sideline protests during the national anthem this week, children were listening. And the controversy was a topic of conversation at high school football games across the the state Friday night.
A CBS4 crew attended the game between the Widefield Gladiators and the Chatfield Chargers at Jeffco Stadium and found varying opinions coming from parents.
Chris Thompson's son TJ is a standout quarterback for Widefield High School, located in Colorado Springs. Before the game the fathe and son talked about the anthem protests and President Donald Trump, who Thompson says doesn't understand what the protest was originally about.
"He is not in touch with the issues of the people. … The issue is not the flag. The issue is the injustice in different parts of the United States," Thompson said.
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"I think everybody needs to step back and take a look at what the original issue was."
Kevin Murray's daughter is a cheerleader at Chatfield Senior High School, located in Jefferson County. He served in the Air Force and disagrees with the protests.
"I don't know if I take it personally. It hurts a little bit … I had the privilege to go to a lot of different countries in this world and you come back here and you realize these amazing freedoms that we have," Murray said.
Chatfield mom Mindy Colppets told CBS4 she understands both sides and only wants her kids to be fully informed.
"I think the most important thing is they have the right to do so if they want to protest something peacefully. And they can listen to their friends and family members and other people in the community to see kind of what their thoughts are and then maybe gather information from there and then come up with their own information," Colppets said.
When the anthem was played at the game, everyone stood.
The final score of the game was Chatfield 38, Widefield 6.
