Kennesaw State cheerleader speaks on taking a knee during national anthem

A handful of cheerleaders take a knee during the national anthem prior to Saturday’s matchup between Kennesaw State and North Greenville, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. (Special by Cory Hancock)

Credit: Cory Hancock

Credit: Cory Hancock

A handful of cheerleaders take a knee during the national anthem prior to Saturday’s matchup between Kennesaw State and North Greenville, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. (Special by Cory Hancock)

After taking a knee on Sept. 30 to protest social injustice and police brutality, Kennesaw State cheerleader Shlondra Young spoke out about her decision on Facebook.

Young, from Leesburg, Ga. according to her Facebook page, wrote a message to her followers on Facebook about her decision to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem at KSU’s Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

“Today, I kneel for equality, I kneel for social injustice and I kneel for those who unjustly lost their lives and are no longer here to kneel for themselves,” Young wrote. “I kneel in a city where a confederate culture still exists among some and issues such as this are often placed on the back burner. I kneel in a city where I am a minority.

“But most importantly, I kneel for unity in a country that needs it the most right now. ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave or forsake you.’ (Deuteronomy 31:6) #TaketheKnee.”

Young was one of several KSU cheerleaders to quietly take a knee over a week ago, reflecting protests in professional sports that were started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick over a year ago.

Young posted again on Facebook on Monday evening about her decision to kneel in protest of injustice, writing about an interaction with a miliary member who supported her protest.

“I ask you to ask yourself are you upset because you find it disrespectful, or upset because of the reason why we are kneeling?” Young wrote in part.

The Kennesaw State football team was not seen taking a knee before their Sept. 30 game because the team traditionally enters the stadium after the playing of the national anthem.