Petition Started to ‘Keep the Marysville Varsity Football Photo’ After Superintendent Addresses ‘Controversy’

A petition has been started to “keep the Marysville Varsity football photo” after the superintendent addressed the “controversy” surrounding the photo at a school board meeting Friday night.

In the photo, players are “holding up flags representing the State of Ohio, the school and the local first responders” including a “Blue Lives Matter” or “Thin Blue Line” flag.

https://www.facebook.com/RobinsViewStudios/posts/2968633289915245

From ABC 6:

The photo is not the official team photo, but a promotional picture, paid for by a booster group, the Monarch Quarterback Club.

“I think it’s easy to rush to judgement, especially with how polarizing some events are in our society,” said Diane Allen, superintendent of Marysville schools at last night’s meeting.

She called this a teachable moment and said it’s difficult to judge what the intent of the players is.

“Intent can’t always be measured or evaluated in a picture, it’s also important to recognize that a symbol or a flag can mean one thing to you and one thing to the person standing beside you,” she said.

The petition contends that “the main complaint is coming from a woman stating the “blue lives matter” flag is borne out of direct opposition to black lives matter.”

From the petition:

Wrong. It’s the “blue line” flag, that has been around since the parents of the people starting the Black Lives Matter movement were young! It opposes nothing, it merely shows support to the officers that take pride in their jobs and what they do. No different than the red line flag, green line flag or the gold line flag. Really, no different. It’s supporting the people who show up, no matter who you are and what you think of them, when you need them. When nobody else can help, they will still be there. When everyone is running from the danger, the people those flags represent run straight at it, knowing they may never come back. Want to stand for something? Stand for unity! Stand for the end of divisiveness! Stand for America! Let these kids keep their picture. They believe in something. You wouldn’t be very happy if you were told you weren’t allowed to stand for what you believe in, would you??

The photographer who took the photo was upset with the controversy and defended the picture.

In a post on Facebook, Robin Thompson asked, “When did we stop seeing things through a lens of love and just see things through a lens of hate and division?… When did we decide to accuse instead of embrace?”

From ABC 6:

Thompson said the photo is not meant to be a political statement and that some of the team members have loved ones who serve as first responders.

“It was never meant to promote one group over another. It was meant to say ‘Thank you,’ she wrote. “I am sorry if you could not see the intent. But I assure you, the intent is love.”