Refusal to Stand for National Anthem Causes Fight at North Brunswick-JP Stevens Football Game in Edison

Edison, NJ - One student's refusal to stand for the National Anthem caused a fight to break out Friday night at the North Brunswick vs. J.P. Stevens High School football game in Edison, according to students who were at the game.

An African-American sophomore at J.P Stevens refused to stand while "The Star-Spangled Banner" started playing before the start of the game, said several J.P. Stevens students who were at the game. This prompted another student, a senior at J.P. Stevens, who is white, to start a fight with him, students said.

Both teen boys were seen fighting in the stands, and school security officers quickly broke up the tussle, an Edison Township spokesman said.

"When (he) realized that he wasn't standing, he asked him to stand and show respect," said a student who witnessed the fight, but didn't want to give their name. "He refused to stand, so (he) asked again. The student then stood and pushed him back and the fight started from there. Once it was broken up both of them were kicked out of the game."

Edison police officers were in the stands, but neither student was charged with a crime. Both teens will likely be disciplined by the district, the spokesman said.

J.P. Stevens won the game, 23-14.

Wikimedia Commons image/Jnn13/Reporting by Katie Kausch and Carly Baldwin