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Constable: NFL grapples with anthem, but schools no longer fumble pledge

The NFL season kicks off Thursday with the defending White House-Snubbing Philadelphia Eagles taking on the Atlanta "Not Our National Bird" Falcons before a television audience of People Looking for Troublemakers During "The Star-Spangled Banner," in a patriotic skirmish that is sure to send fans of all political persuasions into a Twitter.

This rivalry began in 2016 when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem to protest our country's treatment of people of color. By the time the singer got to the part about us living in "the home of the brave," critics were saying players shouldn't be able to kneel "in the land of the free."

An arbitrator last week gave the go-ahead for a trial to see if NFL owners illegally conspired to keep Kaepernick from making his living in football. Kaepernick just inked a deal as a new face of Nike, and critics are burning Nike gear.

A much calmer battle wages daily in public schools across the suburbs and the rest of the state, where some kids sit out the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge was a daily ritual for many kids who went to school in the 1960s and '70s. Members of that patriotic generation went on to avoid the temptations of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, win the Vietnam War, make it their duty to be well-informed and vote in every American election, and ensure that America remained the land "with liberty and justice for all." But they let the pledge fall by the wayside at schools.

Then came the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. According to 105 Illinois Compiled Statute 5/27-3 enacted on July 3, 2002, "The Pledge of Allegiance shall be recited each school day by pupils in elementary and secondary educational institutions supported or maintained in whole or in part by public funds."

But today's kids have a loophole, created by that pesky Constitution.

"The statute says the school has to say it every day, but students can't be compelled to stand or act in any particular way during that time," notes Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the Illinois branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. A student could remain seated, kneel, put his hand over his spleen instead of his heart, stand rigid and salute the flag, remain silent during the added "under God" part, amuse himself by saying "one nation, invisible," or simply spend the entire pledge scanning the room for students who don't take the pledge seriously.

In Texas, a couple of students who refused to stand and recite the pledge were disciplined and responded by suing their schools. Case law seems to side with those students. In 1943, by a 6-3 vote, the United States Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to compel students to salute the flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

"They really don't have a recourse on this," Yohnka says of educators, noting that Illinois hasn't had any of those issues since 2010, when Centralia High School voluntarily ended its practice of making students stand for the national anthem and the pledge and stopped disciplining those who didn't. "Teachers and school districts understand what the law is."

Illinois also mandates a moment of silence, which gives kids time to pray to Allah, Jesus or another deity, contemplate their atheism, or cram for the vocabulary quiz. But, "there is no rule on how long it is," so teachers can be extraordinarily flexible in fitting it into their daily schedule, Yohnka adds.

Some think pledging your allegiance to your nation, like taking a wedding vow to be faithful, is something you need to do only once with meaning, instead of every day to ensure you weren't lying yesterday. Some think there is no reason to play the national anthem before every sporting event. Some think it's OK to drink beer during the anthem while yelling insults at players who kneel. Some think it's OK to cheer during the entire anthem. Some remove their hats, sing along respectfully and don't applaud at the end of the anthem.

NFL owners said players have to stand, which led them into contentious negotiations with the players. The NFL should have some policy in place by Thursday's kickoff, but as Yohnka says, "We're probably not going to fix this today, are we?"

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In this 2002 scene mandated by a new state statute, these students at Lincoln Prairie Elementary School in Lake in the Hills recited the "Pledge of Allegiance" before the start of the first day of school. Daily Herald File Photo
In this April 1942 photo made available by the Library of Congress, children at the Weill public school in San Francisco recite the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that forcing people to stand and recite the pledge violated the Constitution. Associated Press
After kneeling during our national anthem in 2016, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, center, found himself out of football the following season. He filed a grievance with the NFL, saying that owners conspired to keep him from playing, and an arbitrator ruled last week that the case can move on to a trial. Former safety Eric Reid, right, is part of that legal action, and linebacker Eli Harold, left, recently was traded to the Detroit Lions. Associated Press
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