The school principal who banned the US flag from football games at his school has issued a groveling apology where he admits students shamed him into reversing his stance.
Lou Lavely, the head of Travelers Rest High School in South Carolina, appeared in a 3-minute video attempting to explain away his ban, which sparked outrage over the weekend.
Speaking from in front of a US flag of his own, Lavely described how he ordered his assistant principal to tell students to put away their flags at a Friday night football game against a local team.
He called the move a “precaution” – in case the flags were used to taunt athletes from a local school with a large Hispanic population.
As news of the ban spread, he gave instructions for angry locals who turned up with more flags to be kept out – scared that they wanted to “stir up” the crowd.
But in footage released late Tuesday night he admitted that trying to ban the US national symbol was a mistake – and that he decided to change his minds after patriotic students admonished him to pre-judging them.
School Ban on American Flag at Football Game REVERSED After Backlash…
— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) August 30, 2016
He said: “After meeting with some of our students and facility leadership, and with the benefit of time to reflect, I have reached a different decision. I based this decision on something a current student said to me that has weighed heavily on my mind.
“He said ‘Mr. Lavely you took away the flag before we had a chance to demonstrate what our intents were.’ This student has a very valid point.
“He asked that I not make decisions about current students based on the bad behavior of past students. To be perfectly clear, properly displayed American Flags are allowed at any and all Travelers Rest High School events.”
