When 16-year-old Katharine Suarez went to support her friends at the recent Classic City Championship football game, a security officer told her she could not enter Clarke Central High School’s Billy Henderson Stadium the way she was dressed.
“He said I couldn’t go in because I had an American flag on my T-shirt,” Suarez said. “I was like, ‘Why’ and he said you’re just not allowed.”
Suarez said she thought it “was weird how they wouldn’t let me in because of the American flag and not allow me to show my country’s colors.” She found it more strange considering the annual clash between Clarke Central and crosstown rival Cedar Shoals High School was being played on Sept. 11. The event’s theme was “America,” she said, as it was being held on the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
“I was kind of confused,” said the Athens Academy student, who attended the game with friends who go to Clarke Central. “I mean it was an American flag and it was 9-11.”
The officer told Suarez she would be allowed into the stadium only if she changed the shirt or went into the restroom to turn it inside out. The teen noticed there were others near the gate that also were not allowed in. One male had an American flag painted on his chest, she said. Instead of reversing the T-shirt, she covered the American flag with another shirt a friend gave her to wear.
Suarez said she later learned authorities were screening for youths belonging to a local street gang who were using the flag as a gang symbol.
It wasn’t the American flag itself that was being used by some youths to mark their affiliation with a gang, but American flag bandanas, according to Athens-Clarke County Assistant Police Chief Fred Stephens. He said some local youths were folding the bandanas so that only the white stars and blue backing were visible when dangling the bandanas from belts and back pockets to symbolize membership in their gang.
“The screening was not about the American flag,” Stephens said. “It was about this nefarious group that identifies itself as an affiliation of a criminal element by taking that cloth and folding it in a fashion that everyone in the school recognized.”
Screening for gang activity was conducted at the stadium’s gate by school district police officers and sheriff’s deputies, Stephens said. School resource officers from the Athens-Clarke County police department also were on hand to help decide which young people were wearing potential gang symbols.
“We’re asked to make split-second decision on things every day and we do our level best to think through that and not interfere with someone’s good time,” Stephens said. “At some point an SRO may have clarified that the (T-shirt) that young lady had on was fine.”
According to Stephens, law enforcement and school security personnel hold briefings prior to all sporting events to discuss public safety concerns. One issue that arose prior to the Classic City Championship game was the gang that uses American flag bandanas, Stephens said.
Allowing young people into the stadium while displaying gang colors and attire would give rise to the potential of violent conflict with rivals, Stephens said. Innocent people, such as Suarez, might become unwitting targets because of what they are wearing.
“It’s our absolute obligation to see those type of things do not happen,” Stephens said.
“Our intent is to maintain tranquility for anyone who wants to come to an event and have a great time,” Stephens said.
At the Clarke Central-Cedar Shoals football game, people who were wearing what could be perceived as gang attire were given the opportunity to remove a piece of clothing or “amend” their attire, Stephens said, “and if they refused they were not allowed in.”
The assistant police chief called it unfortunate the Classic City Championship and the anniversary of 9-11 coincided with the local gang co-opting the very symbol of American patriotism.
But screenings at school sporting events have become a public safety necessity because too many students and school-age children feel pressured by peers to run with gangs.
“I offer a plea to any young person who feels hopelessly trapped within such a group to seek out a teacher, counselor, trusted member of their family or a member of a faith-based organization for help and guidance,” Stephens said. “We are here and want to help. It is our strong desire to help young people find their way around such obstacles and earn a good education, develop a strong work ethic and protect their character. Unless avoided, that poor choice association will only lead to a lifelong downward spiral with harsh consequences.”
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