(8-14-17) Who would think that a photo taken by a High School football team in Michigan would cause such a stir. ‘Montague – Make Football Great Again’ sign was in front to the local football team and made it to social media. Many said it was a ‘political statement’ in support of President Trump. The President’s campaign slogan was ‘Make America Great Again’. The banner in the picture appears to be photo shopped on a campaign banner.
The Montague Area Public Schools issued a statement on Facebook yesterday that is now going viral.
Superintendent Jeffrey W. Johnson – statement posted on Facebook
“On Friday, August 11, 2017, after football practice, and prior to an inter-team scrimmage, some of the Montague High School football team members posed for a photo holding a banner which highlighted a political slogan,” states the Montague Area Public Schools’ Facebook page.
“Neither the district nor the coaching staff approved or sanctioned this activity. To our knowledge, no district officials or employees were involved in the planning or creation of the banner or photo. This photo was posted on social media by parents and students. These parents and students acted on their own initiative.
“Montague Area Public Schools is focused on teaching and learning, and the use of school property to promote political speech can distract from this focus. Therefore, we are discouraging this type of activity at future school events.”
National sites like USA Today HS Sports even gave it a racial twist:
2,000 residents which is more than 96 percent white
USA TODAY HS Sports Cam Smith
Montague certainly didn’t make its preparations for the forthcoming season any easier by mugging next to any kind of a photo affiliated with a controversial president, no matter which side of the political aisle one sits on.
Accepting high school football players kneeling during the national anthem is accepted by schools and many media sources around the US.
Rockford (Illinois) Auburn Head Coach Dan Appino
“The student athletes said they wanted to create more social awareness of racial injustice in America. They made it clear that they did not intend to disrespect our military; rather, they wanted to embrace the freedom of expression and other constitutional rights that our military fought so hard to preserve. This movement is sweeping the nation as a peaceful form of protest. I am not happy that football is being used as the platform for this protest, but I respect the passion our kids feel about this topic.”
The Wildcats, many who didn’t even vote last November, have done nothing wrong to cause such a stir. No mention of the President ever appeared, only in media coverage and a statement by the school’s Superintendent. The intentions was not to support the President, but why would that even be considered as something ‘bad’.
Montague opens the season with a home game against Reed City where they hope to ‘Make Football Great Again’.
Stateline Sports Network 
Beat reported coverage of this story as of 8/14/17
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