Tennessee High School Football Team Sparks Backlash for ‘Make America Great Again’ Trump Banner

A high school football team in Tennessee recently created a conversation with a pre-game ritual. The Westmoreland Eagles ran through a massive banner as they took the field for a game against the Jackson County Devils, which is a tradition. However, the banner said, “Make America Great Again Trump the Devils.”

Photos surfaced on social media that showed cheerleaders holding up the banner, as well as the team running through them. A third image showed a screenshot of the Westmoreland High School’s Twitter account expressing excitement about the victory. When Twitter users saw the images, they expressed a considerable amount of anger. Many others said that they would spend their time writing letters and calling the school’s administrators.

“This is Tennessee. The stupid kicks in early down there. It’s not surprising it’s near the bottom of the list of states for education, health and economic prosperity. Look at Marsha Blackburn, she’s exhibit A,” one person commented after seeing the photos. Others expressed similar sentiments and said that Tennessee residents are not using the “stolen money” from New Jersey and New York for education.

Many others on social media expressed similar sentiments about the residents of Sumner County after seeing the photos. They said that the majority of football players don’t actually know how to read and didn’t know what the banner said. Other Twitter users said that these players would never leave the county and would instead get their “14-year-old girlfriend pregnant.”

While the majority of Twitter users expressed the opinion that the players and the residents of the area were “ignorant and uneducated,” others raised a different point. They said that the biggest issue with the banner is that the school appeared to be openly promoting a political candidate. Several said that they didn’t care about Trump’s name; what mattered is that the school’s players and cheerleaders alike made a political statement at a football game.

“Disgusting that the administration allowed this to happen. A public school should not be used for political statements,” another Twitter user commented. One said that banners featuring the name of either candidate should not be present at the game. They called for an investigation into the school and the decisions that led to this head-turning moment.