Solid work, South Carolina. Literally waving over the arena. pic.twitter.com/ozphmhergW
— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) March 19, 2017
Yet another reminder of why we all can’t “Stick to Sports”.
In advance of 2nd Round action at the Greenville, South Carolina tournament site, “protesters”, and I use the word lightly, raised a confederate flag outside the arena. Here are more details courtesy of the Associated Press:
A small group of protesters flew a large Confederate flag from the top of a parking garage next to the arena where two men’s NCAA Tournament games are being played. The group arrived Sunday morning, raising the flag from the back of a pickup truck. They planned to stay throughout the games and be on grounds as fans arrived at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Protesters say they hope to make their presence known to the NCAA. The governing body lifted its ban against South Carolina holding championships in 2015. In 2002, the NAACP held a march in downtown Greenville to protest the state flying the flag on Statehouse grounds during the NCAA regionals at the arena.
Quickly following these events the NCAA released a statement denouncing the flags appearance.
NCAA statement on the confederate flag outside the Greenville arena. pic.twitter.com/r1I9TJiW2n
— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) March 19, 2017
Of great note is that South Carolina was given NCAA sanctioned Championship games in 2015. Between 2002-2015 the NCAA had avoided the state due to the state wide appearance of the confederate flag. State lawmakers voted to remove the flag from statehouse grounds in the summer of 2015. The symbolism of the flag is deep rooted in racism and pain. What would motivate a group to choose this platform is despicable.