School leader criticized for handling of cheerleader protest
ATLANTA — Lawyers for Georgia’s board of regents said Tuesday a university president failed to keep state officials informed about moving cheerleaders off the field before football games after some black cheerleaders knelt during the national anthem.
The board’s legal office said in its report that Kennesaw State President Sam Olens did not advise the state’s university system of the change in the pregame routine even though he had been instructed to do so.
Some cheerleaders had taken a knee at a Sept. 30 game to protest racial injustice, prompting a barrage of calls and emails from furious school boosters. The school then changed its pre-game routine, moving cheerleaders into a stadium tunnel during the anthem, and the regents announced an investigation into how the school handled the situation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the review concluded the university didn’t follow its legal guidance that cheerleaders and any other students cannot be prohibited from kneeling during the national anthem as long as the actions aren’t disruptive.