--- title: American Flag Banned at South Carolina High School description: A South Carolina school came under fire last weekend for its decision to ban American flags from football games. What do you think? canonical: https://time.com/4472433/american-flag-ban-south-carolina/ author: Kirsten Salyer article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-30T16:22:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:13.184Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The American Flag Was Banned at a South Carolina High School og:description: But should anyone be outraged? og:url: https://time.com/4472433/american-flag-ban-south-carolina/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02951605461f12b7/6988a431196cf4f8fb03d033/flag.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5060 og:image:height: 2846 og:image:alt: Hands holding American flag og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The American Flag Was Banned at a South Carolina High School twitter:description: But should anyone be outraged? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02951605461f12b7/6988a431196cf4f8fb03d033/flag.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:28 video:published: 2016-07-20 section: politics topics: political protest, flag burning, Republican National Convention, crowd safety, Donald Trump, public confrontation genre: news, event coverage tones: chaotic, tense, confrontational emotions: anger (high), confusion (medium), alarm (medium) sentiment: negative audience: political news readers, general news audience, voters interested in the 2016 election people: Donald Trump organizations: Republican National Convention content_suitability: violence [00:07-00:11]; politics [00:00-00:28]; profanity [00:07-00:07] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # The American Flag Was Banned at a South Carolina High School > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c3948d84-e66d-41bd-b659-3222e660a5bc&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Protest Erupts Over Flag-Burning Outside Republican Convention [Watch (HLS stream): Protest Erupts Over Flag-Burning Outside Republican Convention](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/caSh5o73.m3u8) (0:28)  _Published 2016-07-20. Mass confusion erupted at a not-so-mass protest Wednesday afternoon outside the Republican National Convention in downtown Cleveland._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary A short clip shows a chaotic scene outside a Republican convention where people shout that America is burning and reference Donald Trump telling someone to burn the flag. Voices call for people to move back and warn that someone is on fire. The transcript is fragmentary and contains noise markers, so the exact sequence of events is partly unclear. ## Key points - A speaker chants that America is burning and attributes the phrase to Donald Trump. (00:00) - A speaker says Donald Trump says to burn the flag. (00:03) - Someone tells the crowd to move back and warns a person that they are on fire. (00:07) - A speaker says 'We're burning' with the flags, referring to flags being burned. (00:11) - A speaker tells people to back off and repeats the word 'Burn'. (00:24) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:11] Chants and flag-burning remarks. Protesters chant that America is burning and reference Donald Trump's remark about burning the flag, while someone warns others to move back. - [00:11 to 00:28] Crowd warnings and flag references. Speakers continue referring to burning flags and tell people to back off as the crowd pushes and the situation gets tense. ## Key quotes - [00:00] protester: "Hey, hey America's burning." - [00:03] protester: "Donald Trump says Burn" - [00:07] protester: "Watch it you're on fire stupid" - [00:24] protester: "Back off, back. Burn" ## Questions this video answers - What are protesters chanting outside the convention? [00:00] - What does the speaker attribute to Donald Trump about the flag? [00:03] - Why does someone warn others to move back? [00:07] - What is happening to the flags in this scene? [00:11] ## Content suitability - violence [00:07-00:11]: A speaker warns someone they are on fire, and flag burning is referenced; the transcript suggests a risk of physical harm in a crowd. - politics [00:00-00:28]: Protest content tied to a political convention and a named political figure. - profanity [00:07-00:07]: Mild insult ('stupid') is used toward someone in the crowd.  by [Kirsten Salyer](https://time.com/author/kirsten-salyer/)  ## Kirsten Salyer Aug 30, 2016 4:22 PM UTC  Hands holding American flag Hands holding American flag Getty Images  by [Kirsten Salyer](https://time.com/author/kirsten-salyer/)  ## Kirsten Salyer Aug 30, 2016 4:22 PM UTC A South Carolina high school has come under social-media fire the past few days for its decision to [ban the American flag](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3764060/American-flag-BANNED-South-Carolina-high-school-football-games-principal-says-used-taunt-Hispanic-students.html) at a recent football game. The school’s principal believed flags at Friday’s game could be used to taunt the opposing team, which was from a predominantly Hispanic community. During a previous game against the same team, students from Travelers Rest High School [allegedly waved flags](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/08/29/high-school-bans-american-flag-at-football-stadium.html) at Hispanic students from Berea High School and shouted: “go home.” After backlash from students and alumni, school officials [reversed](https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/News/main.asp?titleid=1608flag2) their position Monday and said they would evaluate behavior on an individual basis moving forward. The school’s decision—and ensuing outrage from many in the community—brings up two hot-button questions, one legal, one political. First, do schools have a constitutional right to ban flags and other items of expression? As Wall Street _Journal_‘s Law Blog [explained](http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/08/29/do-high-schools-have-the-right-to-ban-the-american-flag-at-football-games/) on Monday, according to the 1996 case [Tinker vs. Des Moines School District](https://www.oyez.org/cases/1968/21), such censorship is permitted if the act could “materially and substantially interfere” with school activities. Principal Lou Lavely justified the school’s action in a [statement](https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/News/main.asp?titleid=1608flag): “Any decision to not allow the American flag to be used in an improper ‘taunting,’ unsportsmanlike manner is first and foremost in the interests of promoting the safety and well-being of all in attendance at school events.” Yet others argued that denying entry to students with American flags restricted their right to free speech—and was an act of cowardice on the part of the school. “I’m sick of this political correctness, wrote Travelers Rest alum Hunter Bellows in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/hunter.ballew.9/posts/10153891493191903) that has been shared more than 1,400 times. Another alum, Joseph Carter, commented on the post: “If you can’t respect the student body and their love for the flag, then maybe it’s time for you to go somewhere else, maybe another country.” And that brings up the second question: Is this really about the flag at all? Debates over immigration, political correctness and free speech have been major themes this election season. The experience of this one South Carolina school, in a state that only last year [removed](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/us/south-carolina-confederate-flag.html) the Confederate flag from its State House, offers a compelling example of how divisive these issues continue to be. Regardless of whether the individual students planned to taunt their Hispanic football opponents or wave our country’s flag in pride, the outrage on both sides is a reminder of the power of symbols and importance of having serious conversations about what values we choose to hold most dear. ## Transcript [00:00] Hey, hey America's burning. Donald Trump says Burn [00:03] the [ NOISE ] flag. Donald Trump. Move back. Move [00:07] back. Watch it you're on fire stupid [ NOISE ] Hips are [00:11] right here. We're burning [00:24] the flags on my wife. Back off, back. 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