Chicago City Wire

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School is taking criticism after the school’s choir took a knee before a boy’s basketball match-up versus Amundsen High School on February first.

Chicago’s Morning Answer radio host Dan Proft pointed out the action on Twitter. 

“Whitney Young HS choir takes a knee during the National Anthem before a city bball playoff game. Sigh. Even the magnet schools are repellant in Chicago,” Proft said.

The Whitney Young Dolphins beat the Amundsen Vikings 66 to 36 in the contest. Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, located at 211 S Laflin Street in Chicago, is responsible for 2,121 students and employs 130 faculty members.

The form of protest has been increasing since the beating death of motorist Tyre Nichols in Memphis at the hands of five police officers.

Many have expressed that kneeling during the national anthem is a sign of disrespect. Famed former Bears head coach Mike Ditka, a Republican, was explicit in his distaste of kneeling during the national anthem in a 2020 interview with TMZ. 

“If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country,” Ditka said in a video interview with TMZ Sports.  

“That’s the way I feel. Of course, I’m old-fashioned. I’m only going to say what I feel.” 

“I think there’s a way to protest and there’s a way to don’t protest. You don’t protest against the flag, and you don’t protest against this country.”

Politicians in other states have sought to limit the practice in taxpayer-funded entities.

Polling has shown a deep divide between those who find kneeling appropriate during the national anthem. 

“88 percent of Democrats surveyed thought it was acceptable to take a knee, with 55 percent of independent voters agreeing — but only 23 percent of Republicans shared their viewpoint,” the New York Post reported in 2020.