Tennessee Senate GOP won't say if they'll try to cut funding if teams kneel during national anthem

Natalie Allison
Nashville Tennessean

While Tennessee Republicans continue to condemn East Tennessee State University basketball players for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem last week, their tactics so far stop short of compelling the public university to act.

Senate Republican leaders on Thursday declined to say whether they would consider pulling funding from schools where athletes have taken a knee as a form of silent protest at the start of games.

In addition to the ETSU men's basketball team kneeling during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the University of Tennessee's Lady Vols basketball team has also done so. The Lady Vols have also remained in the locker room during the anthem.

On Monday, all 27 members of the Senate Republican Caucus signed a letter to presidents and chancellors of the state's public colleges and universities urging them to implement policies to prohibit athletes from kneeling during the anthem.

RELATED:Republican senators to Tennessee's public colleges: Stop athletes from kneeling during national anthem

MORE:Tennessee Lady Vols kneel during National Anthem before Arkansas game

Asked whether legislators are interested in cutting funding from the programs if universities don't heed the request, top Senate leaders on Thursday declined to say.

"Not ready to cross that bridge yet," said Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager of Kingston.

Meanwhile, Senate Speaker Pro Tem Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, repeated, "That's to be determined" and "No comment" in response to the question.

Lady Vols players kneel as the national anthem is played before a game between the Lady Vols and Arkansas at Thompson-Boling Arena, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021

"We have not decided what to do should that occur," Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said of the possibility that the kneeling continues.

It would not be without precedent for Tennessee Republicans to vote to pull funding from a public university program. The legislature has done so in recent years, including for a diversity office and for explicit sexual education programming at the University of Tennessee.

In their letter, as some members have said in legislative committees this week, Senate Republicans argued players should be subject to a university's standards of patriotism while wearing a team jersey.

Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday it's "a bad idea to protest in the midst of the national anthem," saying the display promotes division during an otherwise unifying moment.

"The First Amendment is an important part of our Constitution ... but i don't think it's the best time," Lee said of anthem protests.

Lee said he would wait and see where legislation goes on the matter, though it's unclear whether any lawmakers intend to push a bill to require athletes to stand during the anthem.

The ETSU basketball coach and university president have both said the team did not intend to disrespect the flag or military by kneeling, but is instead taking a stand against racial inequality.

House GOP leadership has been less aggressive over kneeling 

Though Senate Republicans have dominated the discussion of the ETSU team's actions, their colleagues in the House have not issued the same sweeping calls for action.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, noting his belief that people should stand during the anthem, clarified that Republicans in his chamber were not planning to issue the same call to action to universities.

"We'll see what the schools do after they got the letter from the Senate," said Sexton, R-Crossville. "We haven't gone down that road yet."

In a statement Tuesday, a spokesman for ETSU said the university had received the letter and would review its current athletic policies, but made no commitments to change current rules for players.

House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison of Cosby likened requiring players to stand for the anthem to requiring them to adhere to a team dress code.

"The schools have a policy that you're going to tuck your shirt in when you get on that court, you're going to wear your shorts on your waist, you're going to look a certain way when you represent this school," Faison said. "I think it's perfectly in the purview of any college in Tennessee to say we expect you to also respect the flag."

Faison said he is fully supportive of universities developing those types of policies for players, but was opposed to the legislature demanding it, calling such a measure "tyranny."

Free speech groups call suggested policy unconstitutional

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee called the policy proposed by Senate Republicans "unconstitutional," noting the U.S. Supreme Court has held that public schools cannot force students to participate in compelled speech.

"Freedom of expression does not cease to exist if you walk onto a basketball court – especially if you attend a public university," ACLU-TN wrote in a statement this week. "Your ability to protest peacefully does not disappear because of a scholarship, and your First Amendment rights are certainly not tied to lawmakers’ reactions to the content of your speech."

In a letter to Randy Boyd, president of the University of Tennessee system, the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights in Education explained that both the First Amendment and Tennessee law restrict a public university's ability to stifle student expression if it is not disruptive to university functions.

"Student-athletes do not leave their First Amendment rights on the locker room floor," FIRE wrote. "A player who scores a game-winning touchdown might visibly give thanks to their Creator or, as Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow was known to do, kneel in prayer."

The organization also pushed back on the notion that students are "ambassadors" of the university, as Senate Republicans have stated, contending that "uniforms merely signify that they are on the team and do not turn them into university spokesmen."

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

Want to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest politics news, podcasts like Grand Divisions, plus newsletters, a personalized mobile experience and the ability to tap into stories, photos and videos from throughout the USA TODAY Network's 261 daily sites.