Members of the Oakland Unified School District Band kneel while performing the national anthem prior to a baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. 

Oakland student band protests (again) while playing national anthem at A’s gam

 

Bay Area students take a knee in solidarity

The 140 member Oakland Honor Band, made up of middle and high school students, took a knee during their pregame performance at Monday night’s A’s game at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Oakland Unified School District Honor Band played the national anthem at an Oakland Athletics game Monday night, as they do every year. But this performance was different. The musicians, positioned in four neat rows on the field, performed the entire song kneeling.

The protest was planned by the students, says Oakland Unified spokesperson John Sasaki.

“These are very bright, well-spoken young people who knew exactly what they were doing,” he said. With their gesture, the students were protesting “racial injustice, police brutality and President Trump.”

Members of the Oakland Unified School District Band kneel while performing the national anthem prior to a baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Oakland, Calif.
Ben Margot/Associated Press

 

Members of the Oakland Unified School District Honor Band kneeled while performing the national anthem at an A's game Monday, Sep. 25. 
 

 

Chris Long, Eagles defensive end: "There are some people who say they don’t want politics in sports. I don’t remember a time when fighting white supremacy was a political issue, but evidently it is for a couple people in this country, and that’s unfortunate." 

Last year the Honor Band, composed of middle and high school students from across the district, took a knee at the end of the anthem, causing a mini controversy in the community, according to Sasaki.

 

“Yet, they still wanted to do it this time,” he said.

Sasaki said the band’s adult supervision supported the protest, but warned them of potential criticism.

Even then, said Sasaki, “That possibility did not phase them.”