Pittsburgh kicker Ian Troost kneels during national anthem
Ian Troost, a kicker for Pittsburgh, took a knee during the national anthem ahead of his team’s game against NC State on Saturday.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Troost, a junior walk-on, “dropped to his right knee” as the anthem began with teammate Jaryd Jones-Smith standing next to him with his hand on Troost’s right shoulder. After the game, Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi said he supports Troost’s freedom of speech. Narduzzi did not speak to Troost about the protest before the game.
“Our guys have First Amendment rights and freedom of speech,” Narduzzi said following the game. “I’m never going to tell a guy he can’t do something. What we’ve talked about is if you’re going to do that and try to make a statement, we’re going to stick together. Someone had their hand on his shoulder, saying ‘Hey, we’re with you.’ Everybody’s got their deal. I know I’m going to stand and put my hand over my heart and give everybody their option of what they want to do.”
Troost, a native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is in his first season with the team after walking on during spring practice. Per the Post-Gazette, he landed at Pitt after playing soccer at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. Troost is third on the depth chart at kicker and does not travel with the team to away games.
Brian O’Neill, in his third season as a starting offensive lineman for Pitt, said the team supports Troost, who was not made available for comment by Pitt, which cited a “policy that players who didn’t appear in a given game don’t speak with the media.”
“If dialogue is needed to be engaged in, we need to be able to talk about it. He has my full support in doing whatever it is he feels like he should do. He chose to do this. There’s nothing that’s distracting about it. It’s business as usual,” O’Neill said.
Troost, along with teammates, applauded members of the military when members of Operation Homefront were honored during a break in Saturday’s game.
From the Post-Gazette:
At a television break early in the third quarter, Pitt had military members from Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization dedicated to building stable and secure military families, take the field to be honored. Though the kneeling that started with Kaepernick was a protest against police brutality and racial inequality – not against the nation’s military – Troost stood with several of his teammates and applauded as the soldiers were introduced.
Troost is one of just a few college football players to participate in these protests against racial inequality, which have been widespread across the NFL. Earlier this month, five New Mexico players knelt during the anthem, which was played at halftime because lightning altered the usual pregame ceremonies. Coach Bob Davie voiced full support for his players.
Elsewhere, a player for Division III Albright College was removed from the team because he went against the team’s plans for the anthem. The player, Gyree Durante, knelt even after the team made the decision as a whole to kneel before the anthem but stand while it was being played.
“Prior to the football game against Delaware Valley University on Saturday, Oct. 7, and upon the recommendation of the team’s leadership council, which is comprised of 24 student-athletes selected annually by team members, the football team made a team-wide decision to both kneel during the coin toss and stand during the National Anthem. This action, which was supported by the coaching staff, was created as an expression of team unity and out of the mutual respect team members have for one another and the value they place on their differences. It was established as a way to find common ground in a world with many differing views,” Albright said in a statement.
“The team agreed to uphold the council decision, with the understanding that there may be consequences for those who choose not to support the team. One football player, unbeknownst to the coach and the team, chose not to support the decision of the leadership council and team. He has been dismissed from the team, but remains a valued member of the Albright College student body.”
Another FBS team, Northwestern, entered the field with arms locked in a showing of unity before the game at Wisconsin earlier this month.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
