On Saturday, three University of Nebraska football players took a knee during the national anthem to protest injustices by police against African Americans.
On Monday, senior linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey, who is one of the players who protested, gave an impassioned speech about threats that he and the other players—DaiShon Neal and Mohamed Barry—have received since their demonstration.
Since then, a school leader has called for Ivey, Neal and Barry to be kicked off the team.
"It’s a free country. They don’t have to play football for the university, either," Regent Hal Daub said during an interview with the Lincoln Journal Star. "They know better, and they had better be kicked off the team. They won’t take the risk to exhibit their free speech in a way that places their circumstance in jeopardy, so let them get out of uniform and do their protesting on somebody else’s nickel."
Nebraska head coach Mike Riley stated that he supports his players' decision to peacefully protest.
"Obviously, this is a choice they have made for personal reasons, and that’s the beautiful thing about the United States, that they can do that," Riley said, according to Hailvarsity.
Read more at the Lincoln Journal Star and Hailvarsity.