--- 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 ---  # The American Flag Was Banned at a South Carolina High School > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5e34c146-e582-402c-8cdb-5571825a21bf&cr=time-nl-network-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._  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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