Some Jefferson Parish (La.) deputies won’t sign up for volunteer security detail at Bonnabel High School football games after team members took a knee during the national anthem before last Friday night’s home game against West Jefferson, WVUE Fox 8 reported.
“That is a voluntary detail, so I suspect I will have some officers refuse to work the Bonnabel High School games,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand told WVUE Fox 8. “The same way that the Bonnabel players have every right to kneel during the national anthem, my officers have every right not to volunteer to work the Bonnabel High School football games.”
Normand said that plenty of officers will still work the extra duty detail, but he won’t force them to work a voluntary detail that they feel disrespects their job. He added that his deputies sometimes won’t volunteer to work during concerts or events if they don’t agree with the artist or message.
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Nationally, there have been a number of displays of solidarity with 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who originally knelt for the national anthem late last month. Originally, Santa Clara (Calif.) police had threatened to boycott 49ers games, but eventually backed off the boycott.
