Colorado Christian University in Lakewood is directing its student athletes to stand for the national anthem before sporting events.

The non-denominational Christian liberal arts university fields 15 varsity sports teams, in NCAA Division-II, as part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The stand for the anthem directive is based, in part, on written CCU internal athletic protocol which states: “All athletes must stand for the national anthem and prayer before a game or sporting event.”

CCU issued a news release Tuesday addressing the issue in response to national anthem protests by NFL players around the country on Sunday, including the Denver Broncos, who had 32 players kneel before a road loss in Buffalo.

Some NFL players, starting with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick last season, have been kneeling during the pregame national anthem to protest and raise awareness of social injustices and issues such as including multiple shootings of unarmed black men by police across the country.

“The racial issues facing this country are serious and racial reconciliation should be a priority for all Americans,” Jeff Hunt, director of CCU’s Centennial Institute, said in the release. “Unfortunately, refusing to stand during the national anthem dilutes the message of the protesters and portrays disrespect towards our country, all who are serving it and our veterans.”

CCU fields 265 student athletes in 15 varsity sports, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf and cross country. The university has both men’s and women’s teams. Related Articles September 13, 2020 Racial injustice themes on display in empty NFL stadiums

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“We just simply don’t think that the anthem or the prayer before the game, for our athletes, is the appropriate venue for that (kneeling) to happen,” said Jim McCormick, vice president of student life and enrollment.

McCormick has been with CCU since 1995 and said there has not been an instance where an athlete did not stand for the anthem or prayer. Furthermore, McCormick is not aware of any athlete taking a knee in the 16-team RMAC, which includes Regis University, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Colorado Mesa University, Western State University and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

The university “believes that freedom of speech is a fundamental American right,” according to the release. Protests are permitted on campus in a “safe and regulated way,” the handbook states.

The next CCU sporting events, women’s and men’s soccer, and men’s volleyball, are scheduled on Friday.

Should a student athlete decide to kneel, McCormick said, “it will be a teaching moment in terms of reiterating our policy, living our policy and going from there.

“Our student athletes understand, we are very much in support of God and country. We don’t tell them they have to pray, we don’t tell them they have to sing,” he said. “Standing for the anthem, however, is part of what we stand for as a university.”

CCU offers more than 100 degree programs for traditional and adult students through its College of Undergraduate Studies and College of Adult and Graduate Studies, according to its website. More than 7,000 students attend the main Lakewood campus, regional centers throughout Colorado and online.