Barringer High in Newark, Woodrow Wilson High in Camden team members knelt last season and coaches say they felt repercussions on the field.
The high school football teams are separated by 86 miles and located on opposite ends of New Jersey, but they share stark similarities: Both schools, Barringer High in Newark and Woodrow Wilson High in Camden, had coaches and players alike protesting social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem last season. And coaches from each say after taking a stand, their games were not officiated fairly and their teams were the subject of numerous questionable calls.
Now, as the 2017 season gets rolling and as the football world is suddenly explosive again after President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on NFL protests, reminders of negative blowback has played a factor in whether at least one of those teams is kneeling again.
Barringer coach Ronly London said the officiating was so egregious last season his team decided to stop protesting after some players and coaches did so before the first four games in 2016.
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“When this stuff took place, all our kids were like, ‘Coach, how is it that we’re getting all these calls [against us]?’” London said. “And one of my kids was like, ‘It’s because we took a knee and the refs don’t like that.’”
After the fourth game against Parsippany Hills, “We all decided collectively, ‘Guys, let’s not do that. Let’s stop,’” London said. “I hate to tell my kids not to express themselves or deter them from doing whatever they feel, but it came down to that because the kids decided we can’t take a knee.”
Wilson coach Preston Brown said he also believed his team’s protest impacted the way referees called the Tigers' games last season. Wilson was one of the first teams in the nation to gain widespread attention when the entire team and coaching staff — except for two players — knelt before the team’s game against Highland on Sept. 10.
“I was told by my [athletic director] that some refs didn’t want to ref our games,” Brown said. “We got a penalty for too many men on the field when we didn’t have enough. One game they went to explain a call to the other coach and when I asked for an explanation I got a sideline warning. Against Moorestown, we were called offside when we weren’t even rushing in. We got a penalty on an extra point for not enough people on the line that didn’t make any sense.
“In a lot of games there were some interesting calls. Usually you just deal with it, but in close games, that can cost you. And I still saw some questionable calls in one of our scrimmages this year.”
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Brown said his team decided to stop kneeling this season, but only because the media attention was overshadowing the positive impact his team is making in the Camden community, including taking part in a mentoring program, local food bank and community support groups.
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association assistant director Jack DuBois said Tuesday his office never received any complaints about questionable officiating from coaches or officials at Barringer or Wilson last season.
In addition, Carmine Picardo, state coordinator for football officials, and Joe Piro, president of the North Jersey Super Football Conference — of which Barringer is a member school — also said they never received any formal reports of suspected biased officiating from either school.
“I can’t imagine any officiating crew that I have worked with as an assigner in all my years even remotely thinking about some kind of bias against a team in regards to a team expressing their First Amendment rights,” Picardo said. “Obviously, if it was, if it was confirmed, no question about it, that would be dealt with very harshly.”
Piro also said any allegations of skewed officiating would have been vigorously investigated.
“We don’t operate like that,” Piro said. “If it were true, yes, they would not referee another game in the Super Football Conference. I’m pretty confident they wouldn’t referee another game in the state. I’m pretty confident the NJSIAA would probably share our opinion.”
Members from one other New Jersey football team — Penns Grove in Salem County — also knelt for the national anthem last season. Some players remained seated on the bench during the team’s game against Haddon Heights in September, and the following week, against Salem, about half the team kneeled for the anthem.
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The team’s coach, John Emel, referred all questions about the protest to the district office when reached by phone Tuesday.
Penns Grove-Carneys Point district superintendent Zenaida Cobian did not return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment about Penns Grove’s decision to kneel last season.
Last fall, players and coaches from Barringer, Wilson and Penn Grove joined many others across the nation who began following the lead of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and kneeling during the national anthem. The silent protests were meant to draw attention to racial inequality and police brutality against people of color in the United States.
No instances of kneeling at the high school level in New Jersey have been reported this season. But the movement gained newfound momentum this past weekend when President Trump blasted NFL protests during a rally in Huntsville, Alabama and said players who kneel should be fired.
Trump’s comments prompted hundreds of players and coaches across the NFL to stage even more protests during games over the weekend, with some teams remaining in the locker room during the national anthem, while other players knelt or stood and interlocked arms with teammates and team personnel.
New Jersey officials said they’re anticipating more protests at the high school level before games this week.
“Everything trickles down, so I’m sure we’ll see some of it this weekend,” Piro said.
The NJSIAA, meanwhile, has no rules regarding the national anthem.
“The NJSIAA does not have any policies or regulations related to the national anthem,” NJSIAA spokesman Mike Cherenson said. “Questions would be best directed to the school.”
There is nothing in New Jersey statute, code or case law that addresses kneeling during the national anthem at football games, and last year there were no reports of suspensions or other punishments after players knelt. If a public school student was punished for kneeling, it is unlikely the punishment would survive a lawsuit, experts say.
On the playing fields, coaches from Barringer and Wilson said there are no renewed plans at the moment to kneel or protest before games. But dialogue amongst the teams continues to take shape as players come forward with questions about President Trump and his latest comments or Tweets of the day.
“He holds the highest office in the country and he says things that are contradictory to what the office upholds,” Brown said. “I just have to control what I can control with my influences and work within the community.”
NJ Advance Media staff writer Kelly Heyboer contributed to this report.
Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Bill Evans may be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
