Cheerleaders from North Stanly High School in North Carolina have been placed on probation for the rest of the year because they posed with a banner supporting President Donald Trump.
Members of the cheer squad had held up a banner reading “Trump 2020: Make America Great Again” during a home game on August 30.
The photo had made the rounds on social media, which prompted the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to “take action,” according to a report from the Daily Mail. In North Carolina, students are prohibited from displaying political signs. If they break the rules again, the students may be subject to fines or even suspension.
“The focus of Friday night football games should be on our students – the players, cheerleaders, band members – the focus should not be on politics,” officials said in a statement to the Mail. “For this reason, we are hopeful the situation will resolve, and our student athletes can have a successful fall season.”
Some in the town are not pleased with this decision and will be holding a protest. They are encouraging people to bring pro-Trump swag to protest the athletic association.
“The North Stanly High School cheerleaders have been wrongly put on probation by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association for the rest of the football season because of holding up a Trump banner before a home game on 8-30-2019,” an event page supporting the students reads. “Please come out and help me show the school and the NCHSAA that freedom of speech is not dead. Please bring all your Trump and MAGA gear and lets throw our support behind the North Stanly High School cheerleaders.”
