FORT WORTH, Texas -- As high school football players prepare to take the field for a new season, Fort Worth ISD is preparing for the possibility of national anthem protests.
District officials say they are now having a conversation with coaches, players and parents that could result in guidelines for when student-athletes choose to take a knee as a form of protest. They want their young athletes to understand the ramifications and the potential backlash they could face from anthem protests.
"The real learning experience is helping those students learn that, yes, you can say what you want to say, but you have to understand that some people aren't going to agree with you," said district spokesman Clint Bond.
Bond said anthem protests have already happened in the district during last school year, but the new dialogue started after football players at Dunbar High School approached their coach this summer telling him that they were thinking of protesting again this season. "His answer was perfect, that is we'll talk about it with the administration, the school leadership," said Bond.
Kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice has spread from the NFL to high school stadiums and gyms, but Bond says that there are big differences between professional athletes and student-athletes in public schools.
"Kids see it on television, but those are professionals. They are employees of a company, of an organization," said Bond. "These are not employees. These are students who have a right to say some things."