133-year-old military academy warns “you won’t disrespect the flag on our football field”

A Wisconsin Military preparatory school resumed a football game with another private school after a tense standoff with a private school whose team players threatened to sit out the national anthem.

St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy nearly refused to play HOPE Christian after their rival’s players previously staged a silent protest at another game in September.

SJNMA president Jack Albert told parents and alumni of the school in a newsletter that he would “halt any game with any team whose players or coaches decide to disrespect the colors of our nation or the national anthem of our country in any way.”

While the refusal to play would have been tallied as an SJNMA forfeit, the school leadership was willing to take such a risk.

“It is our expectation when teams visit our campus, proper etiquette and respect is rendered to the nation’s colors and the national anthem,” Albert said.

However, despite the potential loss, HOPE arrived at the academy 10 minutes prior to kickoff, their players standing on the field during the national anthem with arms locked.

According to Lake Country Now, the military academy soundly beat the Christian school on October 8th, with the final score being 26-14.

President Albert stood by his position surrounding the incident.

“I’m not going to destroy what we’ve had in place here for 133 years,” Albert said. “We have a program here and a standard here. My boys know that if they would do anything that disrespected the flag or anthem they would be dismissed.”

St. John’s, which was founded in 1884, has had several renowned alumni, including several military commanders, statesmen, CEOs, NFL players and the son of Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell.

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