You know the story at Kennesaw State University. A well-respected staffer within Attorney General Chris Carr's office has produced an unofficial letter of guidance on "anthem-kneeling" that is now taking hold at KSU.
The topic is a sensitive one. The letter arrived with this addendum from Carr himself:
"As a constitutional conservative, I strongly support the freedoms of speech and expression protected by the First Amendment - even when I strongly disagree with the speech or expression. While our office believes the courts likely would deem that public university students kneeling during the national anthem is protected by the Constitution, I want to be clear that I find it disrespectful to our nation, to our first responders and to our troops who have fought - and even died - to defend the freedoms we enjoy."
Nonetheless, the opinion is a strong one. A key sentence, emphasis ours:
“To the extent that employees of USG member institutions, including coaches and administrators, may wish to impose rules that would require athletes or other students associated with the sporting event to stand at attention and avoid kneeling, sitting, or other similar activity during the playing of the national anthem, that would constitute compelled speech and would be constitutionally infirm.”
Click here to download, or read the entire guidance letter below:
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