But Thompson said the gridiron is fair game for political protest: “You can be active on the field and off the field.”

As the head football coach at Memorial, Adam Smith is tasked with developing his students into great athletes and principled adults.

“We have young men that are very smart, very in tune, they have ideas and opinions," Smith said. If Madison Memorial’s football team decides to take a knee during one of their upcoming games, Smith said he will support his players’ decision.

“I am happy that young people are allowed to express themselves, and feel that they are being heard and surround themselves with something that they feel strongly about and not be penalized," Smith said. "If it happened with us, our kids have that right. I am not going to take that away from them.”

Smith said he also wants his players to recognize that change will not happen simply by taking a knee; he hopes his athletes will also take action to combat the injustice they are protesting.