Presidential candidate, Beto O’Rourke, invited three former Michigan high school football players to the Democrat debate Tuesday evening who had taken a knee during the playing of the National Anthem at a 2017 game.
The three Lansing Catholic High School students claimed, at the time, they were protesting America’s history of racism and were following the example of former NFL football quarterback Colin Kaepernick. A fourth kneeling player was also invited, but could not attend the Tuesday evening event due to his college schedule.
All four students were benched for part of the 2017 game by their coach.
After the game one of the players, Michael Lynn III, told the Lansing State Journal that he was on a mission for “social justice” and that he would continue that mission “regardless of the consequences.”
All four players were later honored by the Lansing City Council during a ceremony in December 2017.
