New college coach makes big national anthem promise
A college basketball coach hired to turn around the fortunes of an SEC program has made a big promise regarding how his players will respond to the pregame playing of the national anthem.
After going 12-20 this past season and finishing dead last in the Southeastern Conference, Ole Miss’ men’s basketball team needed to make some big changes.
And by hiring Kermit Davis away from Middle Tennessee to serve as their new head coach, it seems like that’s exactly what the Rebels are doing.
During his time at Middle Tennessee, Davis turned the school into a mid-major powerhouse. His squad won four consecutive Conference USA titles and went 81-23 over the past three seasons.
On Monday, Davis was introduced as Ole Miss’ new head coach, and at a news conference, he detailed how he plans to turn the program’s fortunes around, just like he did at Middle Tennessee.
“What is Ole Miss Basketball going to look like?” he asked rhetorically. “It’s going to be relentless, athletic, explosive, a team that’s going to have to play on and on and on to beat.”
“It’s going to be a team that’s going to be unselfish. We’re going to play fast and smart in transition. We’re going to try to get easy baskets. We’re going to try to play with great body language,” he added.
Then, without being prompted by any of the reporters present, Davis emphasized that his players are going to be “respectful.” Part of that, he said, means displaying respect for the American flag and standing for the playing of the national anthem.
“We’re going to be a respectful team that respects the flag and the national anthem,” he stated. “All those things from culture is what we’re about. It’s who we’re going to be.”
Controversy over the national anthem first erupted in 2016, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to a preseason game.
Kaepernick, who claimed to be protesting widespread violence and rampant injustice against African-Americans, was joined in his protest by many others players. The controversy then intensified in September 2017, when President Donald Trump stated at a campaign-style rally that the “sons of b—–s” who kneel ought to be “fired.”
However, the debate over kneeling has not really extended to the world of college basketball, and no Rebels have ever knelt for the national anthem — at least not in recent memory.
Despite Davis’ likely pure intentions, his comments were criticized by many who wondered why he even brought up the issue in the first place. Others pointed out what they saw as irony in the fact that Mississippi’s own state flag is reminiscent of the controversial Confederate battle flag.
“If he’s such a proud American that he cannot tolerate black men protesting against institutionalized racism within our borders, how can he coach a team named after the soldiers that tried to tear this country apart 150 years ago just because they wanted to be able to own those black men?” asked Rob Dauster of NBC Sports.
“If that’s not hypocrisy at its finest, I don’t know what is,” he added.
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