Kennesaw State University president Sam Olens, has resigned his position after coming under fire for attempting to prevent university cheerleaders from taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem.
In October, a group of Kennesaw State University cheerleaders decided to emulate the NFL’s anti-American protests and began taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem at school games. Dubbed “The Kennesaw Five,” the group of African American cheerleaders sparked controversy at the school and among some local lawmakers who immediately let their displeasure be known.
President Olens quickly took action, but was accused of bowing to the local officials after he ruled that the cheer team would not be allowed to take the field until after the national anthem was played.
Olens’ decision, of course, didn’t satisfy those who supported the cheer team’s protest. The school chief soon came under fire from students who supported the protests, causing him to reverse his decision and allow the cheerleaders to continue their protests during the national anthem.
Now, it looks like the embattled school president has thrown in the towel.
“I have decided that new leadership will be required for KSU to fully realize its potential,” Olens wrote in an email to faculty and students, according to Yahoo Sports.
Supporters of the protests crowed about their “success.”
“The KSU cheerleaders will go down in civil rights history,” said Kennesaw professor Susan Raines. “What little power they had made a difference, and that should be a lesson to all of us.”
It isn’t exactly clear what kind of “success” Olens’ resignation offers where it concerns the purported causes the cheerleaders were protesting. How the abdication of a liberal university president effects any “change” for “police brutality” or the fight for “equal rights” is anyone’s guess.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.