Bill Self says he’ll talk with his players about issue of protesting during anthem

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self plans on meeting with his players about the topic of protesting during the national anthem, which has escalated in the NFL since President Donald Trump spoke out against the league last weekend.

“We’ve addressed it in detail in the past. We’ve had long team meetings. We’ve let people voice their thoughts on some different issues which I think is important,” Self said Tuesday morning during an appearance on WHB (810 AM). Self noted his schedule the last several days has been to hit the road recruiting immediately after early morning Boot Camp conditioning drills, not leaving him much time with the Jayhawks.

“I don’t think you make a statement personally without knowing all the facts and ramifications of those statements so we’re going to talk about this a lot,” Self said.

Self — his team did not protest during the national anthem last season following quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit or kneel during the anthem before San Francisco 49ers games, in protest of racial injustice and police brutality — said he may bring in guest speakers.

“We’ll probably have somebody — a professor, also maybe somebody with a history background, sociology, whatever, to come in and talk about some things because there’s been so many things that have happened in the last couple months that certainly have brought so much attention to this,” Self said.

“I want our guys to do what they feel (during anthem) but I don’t want them to do it just because they see somebody else do it and they think this is the right thing to do. I do think there has to be a lot of thought behind how we feel and certainly our actions need to take all those things into account.”

Self noted that “one thing that we do not want to compromise ever is respecting the flag or respecting our national anthem, and certainly the people that have given so much and sacrificed so much so we can do what we do, and that’s everybody across the land, not just athletic teams. I know positively our players do respect that, but what has happened here of late, I think it’s brought a lot of notoriety to some things that are obviously serious challenges in our country.”

Self said some of Trump’s statements “have certainly galvanized the athletic community in many ways. But has it galvanized them to protest our troops or the anthem or the flag? Which I do not believe so at all. I think it’s galvanizing them in large part because of some injustices they see but also to stand against the person that made the statement.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Bill Self says he’ll talk with his players about issue of protesting during anthem."