Freedom of what was that? I didnt quite catch it, and neither did the girls and boys varsity basketball teams from Mendocino High School in northern California. They arent going to catch much of anything since they are now banned from a local tournament for planning to wear I Cant Breathe! t-shirts during warm-up practice. (The boys were finally allowed to play after all but one agreed not to wear the t-shirts, but the girls stuck to their pledge and wont be playing.) It was called a security precaution by one principle. Thats the way to teach American kids about the meaning of security! I say three cheers for such inspired educators in the new American way of life! Tom A high school basketball tournament on the Northern California coast has become the latest flashpoint in nationwide protests over police killings of unarmed black men. The boys and girls varsity basketball teams from Mendocino High School were disinvited from a tournament that starts on Monday at nearby Fort Bragg High, because of concerns players would wear T-shirts with the words “I Can’t Breathe” printed on them while warming up. Several professional basketball players have worn “I Can’t Breathe” shirts during pre-game warmups, as have stars of the NFL. The slogan refers to the final words of Eric Garner, a New York man who died after being placed in an illegal chokehold during an arrest by NYPD officers in July. A grand jury decision not to indict the officer involved led to widespread protests in New York last month... Brian Triplett, the athletic director at Fort Bragg High, did not return a call and email seeking comment. Principal Rebecca Walker issued a written statement on Friday saying school administrators respected the Mendocino teams for paying attention to what is going on in the world around them and that the T-shirts were being prohibited as a security precaution. “To protect the safety and well-being of all tournament participants it is necessary to ensure that all political statements and or protests are kept away from this tournament, wrote Walker, who said she was speaking on behalf of the athletic director and the Fort Bragg school superintendent. We are a small school district that simply does not have the resources to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff, students and guests at the tournament should someone get upset and choose to act out.” theguardian/world/2014/dec/27/i-cant-breathe-t-shirts-high-school-basketball
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 15:00:00 +0000