Two football players have finally lost their positions after they decided to protest the National Anthem and American flag. Granted, they are high school players on a private school team, but they’ve been booted nonetheless. On Friday, Houston private school Victory & Praise Christian Academy players and cousins, Cedric Ingram-Lewis and Larry McCullough, followed through on their plans to protest during the anthem. Ingram-Lewis raised a fist while McCullough took a knee.

They were immediately told to remove their uniforms and leave the game by their coach Ronnie Mitchum. Mitchum happens to be a former Marine and current pastor.

Mitchem said the pair left him no choice. He thought he had a deal with his players that no one would kneel. He said he supported the pair protesting, but wanted them to do it in other ways – kneeling after a touchdown in the end zone or writing and passing out a paper about the issues.

Mitchem believes the kneeling offends people and veterans who have fought for this country and takes away from the focus on the issues.

“That was my point of view,” Mitchem said. “Like I said, I’m a former Marine. That just doesn’t fly and they knew that. I don’t have any problem with those young men. We’ve had a good relationship. They chose to do that and they had to pay for the consequences.”

One of the players mothers isn’t planning on letting this go.

Lewis’ mother Rhonda Brady supported her son and nephew being inspired to protest, saying it was completely their decision.

She was surprised by the coach’s reaction, however, deeming it out of line.

“I’m definitely going to have a conversation because I don’t like the way that that was handled,” Brady said. “But I don’t want them back on the team. A man with integrity and morals and ethics and who truly lives by that wouldn’t have done anything like that.

“Actions speak louder than words. So, for him to do what he did, that really spoke volumes and I don’t want my kids or my nephew to be around a man with no integrity.”

The other player’s mother had a more descriptive reaction.

Ingram-Lewis’ mother said the players shouldn’t be told what time they can and cannot protest.

“He has a slave master mentality,” she said. “If you were to go back to that when they wanted to tell us this is what you are going to do and this is how you do it. And if we didn’t comply, we were beaten, whooped or even killed.”

No, mom, the kid doesn’t get to do what he wants whenever he wants. The right to freedom of speech is protected against government repercussion, not foreseeable reaction to breaking the rules. No one in this whole debacle of ridiculous protests has been arrested and thrown in jail  – or beaten, whooped, or even killed BY THE GOVERNMENT. That is the only thing you have a right to. Facing criticism and even consequences is fair game. Equating this to slavery is disgusting and despicable. And hanging out with Coach Mitchum, a man of solid integrity, is exactly where you should want your son to be.

It is a tough row to hoe, but people need to be reeducated about what it means to be American. If you want to be a good American, you respect America and its very minimal public rituals that had up until Colin Kaepernick came to town, Social Justice Warrior Extraordinaire, been simply a nice moment to come together. Does this mean you must Love America!, like you must Love Big Brother!? NO! It means you understand and respect others’ Love for America and you have the social grace not to interfere with a few moments of honor in which another American might want to engage. Why is this so hard for some on the Left to understand?

The coach did the right thing. This stupid protest action is infecting our youth. Decisive action and standing on clear principle is what is needed to turn this pervasive disrespect for America around. America is a force for good in the world – it doesn’t mean she hasn’t been sullied by people who have taken bad actions in her name or don’t live up to her ideals of equality. But to fix any problems we do have in America, we need to agree that America provides the guide by which to fix them. The founding documents were written with terms that allowed for self-correction, and if you protest America then you attempt to defeat the very thing that will bring you freedom. Don’t be free-dumb.

During all the conversations I’ve had over the last week or so about this issue, one person brought up the value of comedians in poking holes in sacred cow arguments. Sure, comedians who engage in thoughtful satire and humor are valuable to a free society, but the comedians today mostly engage in mean jokes and promulgate skewed views of facts. But there is one comedian who really gets this flag debate. Unfortunately he is gone too soon.

I believe team sports is one of the most valuable activities kids can be involved in, so I’m sorry that these young men have chosen to step out of that positive environment and be disrespectful in the process. If they truly understood that America itself protects their rights to free speech they may have chosen differently, and found an alternate, more persuasive, and productive way to communicate their concerns. But how can we hope for them to understand when we have grown men engaging in a protest that not even they understand? #TakeAStand