A Utah couple say they have been banned from waving a Betsy Ross flag at Major League Soccer games because the team considered it a 'symbol for hate groups'.

Randolf and Diana Scott, who are season ticket holders for the Real Salt Lake team, said they were asked to take down their Betsy Ross flag during a recent home game match.

They claim staff at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy told them they would be kicked out if they didn't put away the Revolutionary War-era U.S. flag with 13 white stars in a circle.

Randolf regularly paints his mohawk like an American flag and stands near the pitch wearing his Real Salt Lake merchandise.

Randolf and Diana Scott, who are season ticket holders for the Real Salt Lake team, said they were asked to take down their Betsy Ross flag during a recent home game match

He usually waves an American flag at games but faced immediate backlash when he took his Betsy Ross flag, which is named after the Philadelphia woman credited with designing the symbol, last month.

'Diana bought it for me actually because my other flag was kind of old and falling apart,' Randolf told Fox 13.

The complaints from other fans escalated last weekend and staff asked the couple to take the flag down.

'They kept telling us if he wasn't going to take it down, we were going to be rejected from the game,' Diana said.

The couple initially refused to take down the flag.

They eventually put it away when staff said they risked being thrown out of the stadium.

'He asked me - he's like, 'So what's the purpose of the flag?'' Randolf said.

'I was like, 'Well, 'cause we love America'.'

Randolf regularly paints his mohawk like an American flag and stands near the pitch wearing his Real Salt Lake merchandise

Real Salt Lake said in a statement that they didn't want the Betsy Ross flag flying at the stadium because it had recently become a symbol of hate groups. Pictured above is the flag posted on the side of the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia

He usually waves an American flag (above) at games but faced immediate backlash when he took his Betsy Ross flag, which is named after the Philadelphia woman credited with designing the symbol, last month

'When people see me or Diana with this flag, I hope they can understand that it's about the freedoms we have here in America. The legacy that America has.'

Real Salt Lake said in a statement that they didn't want the Betsy Ross flag flying at the stadium because it had recently become a symbol of hate groups.

'Recently, and very controversially as well as surprising to us, the Colonial flag has been adopted as a symbol for hate groups,' the team said.

'Any controversial flags or other similar banners or signs with symbols of hatred, divisiveness and/or intolerance whether intentional or otherwise will not be permitted in our stadiums. Period.'

The flag was the center of a firestorm back in July when Nike revealed it was removing a July 4th-themed sneaker that was to bear the Betsy Ross flag after receiving complaints from its star endorser and ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Nike recalled the sneaker after Kaepernick asked the company not to sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others considered offensive because of its connection to the era of slavery and it had been more recently appropriated by white nationalist groups.

Although extremist groups appear to have appropriated the flag, it is not widely viewed as a symbol of hate and is used in museums that focus on 18th century U.S. history.

The Anti-Defamation League does not include it in its database of hate symbols.

The flag was the center of a firestorm back in July when Nike revealed it was removing a July 4th-themed sneaker that was to bear the Betsy Ross flag after receiving complaints from its star endorser and ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick



