A Santa Clarita, CA, high school football team will stop carrying a "Thin Blue Line" flag onto the field before games after district officials told the athletes the flag is "divisive."
Another high school team in nearby Saugus had already stopped carrying the flag during opening ceremonies.
William S. Hart Union High School District Superintendent Mike Kuhlman sent a letter to Santa Clarita community members Wednesday evening indicating a "controversy" had arisen as a result of the Saugus High School football team carrying the flag onto the field, WSET reports.
One parent was particularly upset with the move considering off-duty police officers were the first to step into action when a shooter targeted Saugus High School in November 2019, Fox LA reports.
"The first responder was a parent who dropped off a kid and he literally saved some lives," parent Brandy Roggentien told KTTV. "The fact that the school is not honoring that – that is mind-blowing and disgusting."
Superintendent Kuhlman indicated in his letter to the school community that the decision to stop allowing the "Thin Blue Line" flag does not change the district's support for law enforcement.
