During a Friday, Sept. 29 night game, two Victory & Praise Christian Academy football players were removed from the team immediately after raising a fist and kneeling in protest against police brutality and racial injustices.

Cedric Ingram-Lewis raised his fist while cousin Larry McCullough knelt during the national anthem drawing the ire of their coach and Pastor Ronnie Mitchem who believed it to be disrespectful.

"He told us that disrespect will not be tolerated," Ingram-Lewis recalled the moment after the anthem ended. "He told us to take off our uniform and leave it there."

Before the incident unfolded, Mitchem, who started the football program six years ago, expressed support for protesting just as long as it wasn't done during the anthem.

There were also talks about how to protest in other ways that would appease everyone such as kneeling after a touchdown in the end zone or writing and passing out a paper about the issues. However, according to The Houston Chronicle, the coach said he was left with no other choice.

"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."

As a private school, it is likely the two students can't challenge Mitchem's decision. But in Louisiana, students may have a fighting chance. Bossier Parish Schools Superintendent Scott Smith encouraged officials at 34 schools to make players stand for the national anthem in wake of last week's statements made by President Donald Trump.

“In Bossier Parish, we believe when a student chooses to join and participate on a team, the players and coaches should stand when our national anthem is played in a show of respect,” Smith said. “It is a choice for students to participate in extracurricular activities, not a right, and we at Bossier Schools feel strongly that our teams and organizations should stand in unity to honor our nation’s military and veterans.”

Blavity reported that this public school system could be hit with multiple lawsuits because as a public school the first amendment rights of students are protected.

Victory & Praise Christian Academy football players

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