A high-school principal in South Carolina claims he barred the U.S. flag from Friday night’s football game to avoid offending largely-hispanic rival and a confrontation.
A high school principal is taking heat for barring the American flag from its first home game of the season last Friday night.
The controversy came to light Saturday after Hunter Ballew described the incident on his Facebook page.
As the press picked up the story, it became clearer that the high school principal appeared to be barring students from carrying the flag into the game so as not to offend the Hispanic students and fans of the rival school.
Tensions are flaring after a Travelers Rest student was blocked from carrying an American flag into a high school football stadium, according to reports on social media..
Several people posted about the incident on social media Saturday, claiming the student wasn’t allowed to carry the flag into Friday night’s Travelers Rest-Berea game because it might offend Berea’s large Hispanic community.
Travelers Rest’s principal, Lou Lavely, responded Saturday. He said the American flag has been used in the past to “taunt” Berea students, leading to confrontations.
“Student safety (and in the case of a football game, safety of all attending) is our primary concern,” Lavely said. “It is the responsibility of the school to provide the safest environment possible, and no object, sign, chants by students, etc. would be permitted if they compromise safety.”
“I’m sick of this political correctness. We need to do something about it because it’s not getting any better,” stated Ballew on his Facebook page.
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