High School Cheerleaders Placed On 'Probation,' Benched By School For Posing With 'Trump' Banner

Some members of North Stanly High's cheer squad will not be allowed to support their school’s football team for one year after they displayed their support for President Donald Trump.

On August 30, a group of cheerleaders posed with a banner that read "Trump 2020: 'Make America Great Again'" before a Friday night football game. After the photos of the students and their banner circulated on social media, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) sprung to action Monday, placing those involved on "probation," disallowing them to cheer for one year, reports the Daily Mail.

Stanly County Schools Superintendent Jeff James said the probation is to make sure the cheerleaders "don't do it again," as all North Carolina high schools have a policy against students displaying political signs, according to the Associated Press.

Despite the ban, the students are expected to keep cheering, which may result in fines or suspension from school if they continue to display political messaging, the Daily Mail reports.

[...] Nearly 1,000 people have signed up on a facebook event page to attend the school’s next football game wearing MAGA hats and other Trump campaign gear.

A rally is planned Friday night across from North Stanly High School in response to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association placing the school’s cheerleaders on probation.

[...] Stanly resident Jeremy Onitreb and Jay Thaxton said they decided to have Friday's rally to support the cheerleaders’ First Amendment rights.

"We saw an injustice," Onitreb said. "We saw that the cheerleading squad's First Amendment rights were being violated."

Onitreb said there is a "lop-sided political bias involved in the decision-making" by the athletic association.

Though Onitreb does not have any children who attend North Stanly, he does have children in the school system. He said this is an issue that extends beyond Stanly County.

"Conservatives, as a whole, are treated as a pariah on a regular basis," Onitreb said. "We are called Nazis and racists."