Bluefield College, an NAIA school in Virginia, forfeited its men’s basketball game on Thursday after the school’s president suspended several players for kneeling during the national anthem.
President David Olive, who is white, said that he had told players to stop kneeling during the anthem in protest. When they continued, he decided to suspend everyone involved, per ESPN.
That forced the team to forfeit its game against Reinhardt on Thursday night.
"The basis for my decision stemmed from my own awareness of how kneeling is perceived by some in our country, and I did not think a number of our alumni, friends, and donors of the College would view the act of kneeling during the anthem in a positive way," Olive said, via ESPN.