Little Miami HS Football Players Receive Scholarships After Patriotic Display

The two young men were originally suspended after carrying Thin Red and Thin Blue Line flags onto the field, defying school orders.

(Morrow, Oh.) – Two student-athletes from a Cincinnati area high school are being celebrated by police, military, and fire personnel.

On September 11, 2020, Little Miami High School football players Brady Williams and Jarad Bentley carried a Thin Blue Line and a Thin Red Line flag onto the football field in a game that was advertised as “Patriot Night”.

Williams is the son of a Sheriff’s Deputy and Bentley is the son of a fireman.

The two young men simply wanted to honor the lives of first responders that lost their lives during the tragic terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

However, the two young men were defying school orders when they carried the flags onto the field. Some even saw it as a political statement, and Williams and Bentley were suspended from the team indefinitely.

The incident caught the attention of the national media, with both players appearing on "Fox & Friends" earlier this week.  

The school board also completed their investigation this week, stating that the individuals showed no political motivations behind during their display, and the players have been reinstated to the team. 

An Important Statement from Little Miami Board of Education. pic.twitter.com/E2fpHsJfnM

— Little Miami Schools (@LM_Schools) September 15, 2020

The Holiday for Heroes program called Williams and Bentley “true Patriots”.

“They did something last Friday that showed they are far beyond their years. These men stood up for a cause they believe in. As they took the field with flags in hand it reminded us how we felt 19 years ago, heartbroken yet strong and united,” Holiday for Heroes said in a statement.

For those reasons, the organization has chosen Williams and Bentley as two of their 2020 scholarship and award recipients.

Holidays for Heroes is a local non-profit that has been providing scholarships and support grants in the tri-state for 15 years.

Learn more at www.holidayforheroes.org.