Georgia Cheerleaders Sold Shirts That Say ‘Stand For The Anthem, Kneel For The Cross,’ Caused Huge Controversy

A T-shirt sold by Georgia high school cheerleaders as part of a fundraising effort has caused controversy in the small community, with some calling it “offensive,” Dodge County News is reporting. The shirts say, “In Dodge County, we stand for the flag, kneel for the cross.”

Dodge County High School, home of the Indians, is in Eastman, Georgia, a rural community about 140 miles south of Atlanta. For years, the cheerleading team has sold commemorative T-shirts, and for years, they’ve contracted with Heart of Georgia Signs and Tee’s, says spokesperson Lisa Hartley.

“I have been designing the cheerleaders’ t-shirts for several years now. They use the money for competition.”

Hartley says that every year, the cheerleaders work with the T-shirt printer to come up with a design, get it approved and printed, and start selling it.

For this year’s design, the cheerleading team referenced the ongoing debate over NFL players protesting by kneeling, rather than standing, during the playing of the national anthem. It also referenced the Christian beliefs of the supposed majority of Dodge County students.

“For years, our football players have stood when the National Anthem is played, and they pray before the game. When a player gets hurt, they kneel. I considered that to mean that our Dodge County parents have raised their children right, and felt like it was respectful.”

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In fact, not everybody in Dodge County sees it that way, according to WMAZ-TV.

Deneen McLeod, for example, sees the shirts as a dig at NFL players and for the causes they’re trying to represent.

“It stands for the hurt of black people getting killed, beat by police officers and getting off with it. So therefore, we as black people, some of us have taken that, to us, that’s what it looks like.”

Similarly, Taelor Rye, a graduate of the high school, thinks that the cheerleaders’ hearts may have been in the right place, but that they didn’t understand the full context of what they were saying.

“I’m disappointed in the lack of consideration that went into the design and distribution of the shirt. What may have been intended simply as a show of pride has greater implications beyond the surface level.”

Such a kerfuffle has been raised about the shirts that, for now, the cheerleaders are no longer selling them. Local business, however, are.

Meanwhile, Fox News contributor Todd Starnes is outraged.

“You would be hard-pressed to find anybody in Dodge County, Georgia who does not stand for the national anthem or take a knee to pray. That’s just how it is.”

Superintendent Michael Ward says that students will be allowed to wear the shirts at school, but that if there are any problems, he will deal with them as they arise.