Players on the Cahokia Quarterback Club, a football team comprised of children 8 and under, joined countless others in taking a knee during the national anthem.
Fox 2 Now in St. Louis reports that the team kneeled before Sunday’s game at Little Devil’s Field in Belleville. Cahokia is located directly across the water from St. Louis where Anthony Lamar Smith was killed by Jason Stockley who was labor acquitted.
Speaking to Fox 2 Now, Coach Orlando Gooden said the following regarding his team’s act:
“One of the kids asked me if I saw (people) protesting and rioting in St. Louis. I said yes; I said, ‘Do you know why they are doing it?’” said Coach Orlando Gooden.
Coach Gooden said his player responded, “Because black people are getting killed and nobody’s going to jail.”
Gooden, who played football at Mizzou, said the kids knew about the Jason Stockley decision.
“I felt like it was a good teaching moment for me to circle the team and have a meeting,” he said.
All the parents on the team reportedly supported the coach’s decision to take a knee.