Following Kaepernick’s Example: A Comparison of the First Amendment Rights of High School and College Athletes and How Those Rights Apply to Kneeling During the National Anthem

Authors

• Chad Leitch

Abstract

Athletes protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the National Anthem before sporting event has become prevalent in this country. As these protests have increased, so have attempts to restrict these protests especially at the collegiate and high school level. This has raised the question of whether restriction on these protests by schools are a violation of the student-athletes’ First Amendment rights. This note begins with an overview of these protests, including how they began and examples, and then transitions into a determination of what the appropriate test is to determine whether restrictions on these protests by schools are constitutional or whether they violate student-athletes’ First Amendment rights.

Recommended Citation

Chad Leitch, Following Kaepernick’s Example: A Comparison of the First Amendment Rights of High School and College Athletes and How Those Rights Apply to Kneeling During the National Anthem, 45 S. Ill. U. L.J. 523 (2021).
Available at: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol45/iss3/4