Sports

The Kamiakin football team stayed in the locker room; it’s not what you think

By Kevin Anthony
Kamiakin’s football team runs out on to the field after the national anthem at Fran Rish Stadium on Friday before the start of a Mid-Columbia Conference football game against Richland. The Braves were mistakenly told the anthem would be played later than it was, and reaction from fans was immediate.
Kamiakin’s football team runs out on to the field after the national anthem at Fran Rish Stadium on Friday before the start of a Mid-Columbia Conference football game against Richland. The Braves were mistakenly told the anthem would be played later than it was, and reaction from fans was immediate. Noelle Haro-Gomez Tri-City Herald

The boos rained down on the Kamiakin Braves as they took the field before Friday night’s game at Fran Rish Stadium.

Under normal circumstances, it would simply have been a regular greeting for a Mid-Columbia Conference rival; they were playing on Richland’s field after all.

But this time, there was some political drama driving the reaction.

When the national anthem started up before the game, the Braves players and coaches were still in the locker room. When they came out after the song, the reaction was immediate and intense. Along with the boos, social media took off.

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<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTriCityHerald1%2Fposts%2F1887359014614821&width=500" width="500" height="199" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>

But unlike many NFL players and teams, Kamiakin wasn’t trying to make any kind of political statement. The Braves were just told the anthem was going to be delayed becuase the game was being televised on SWX. And when they heard it start up while they were in the locker room, they figured better to wait than come out in the middle of it.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is what actually took place regarding the National Anthem tonight. <a href="https://t.co/0MaqMCo31S">pic.twitter.com/0MaqMCo31S</a></p>&mdash; Kamiakin Athletics (@KamiakinBraves) <a href="https://twitter.com/KamiakinBraves/status/916515599676694528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 9:38 PM with the headline "The Kamiakin football team stayed in the locker room; it’s not what you think."

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