Washington High School Prohibits Students From Commemorating 9/11 At Football Game

Several students at a Washington state high school wanted to commemorate the 20th memorial of the September 11 attacks by dressing in red, white, and blue for a patriotic-themed game, but their request was turned down because the event could “unintentionally cause offense to some who see it differently,” according to a report.

According to Jason Rantz, a host on KTTH 770/94.5FM, the event was canceled “at the last minute” by an unidentified staff member at Eastlake High School in Sammamish. During the performance, a student said that he had been warned that the “red, white, and blue was going to be seen as racially insensitive and may affect people in a way that we will not understand”, and as a result, the students had to alter their theme.

On its website, the station posted a screenshot of an email from one of the school’s associate principals to a parent, in which the principal expressed her understanding of “the sacrifice and values our flag represents, but I think they [school leadership] just did not want to unintentionally cause offense to some who see it differently.” Which begs the question who would the flag offend… Islamic terrorists?

The school’s principal and the associate principal did not immediately reply to an email sent by Fox News after-hours requesting comment.

Rantz stated that Chris Bede, the principal, and the district’s communication director did not go into details about who may be upset by the players’ wearing the colors, but that they were concerned about the perception of the athletes.

Shannon Parthemer, the district’s communication director, informed the station that the game was not a home game.

Shannon Parthemer, the district’s communication director, informed the station that the game was not a home game. “Since it was not a home game, there was no opportunity to have an announcement about Patriots Day and to share why students were dressed in red, white and blue,”

According to the radio, Bede seemed to be caught aback by the decision to cancel the theme song. According to Rantz, Parthemer, who did not immediately reply to an email from Fox News, said that the decision was taken by an unidentified member of the School’s employees. Bede wanted to make it clear that schools do not have the authority to prohibit kids from wearing anything as long as it is not obscene, vulgar, or otherwise offensive. According to reports, Bede informed his parents that the theme of red, white, and blue “would not fit into that category.”