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High school football player stands for anthem day after ACL surgery

A Texas high school football player made a powerful statement of his own about the importance of the national anthem just by standing.

A Texas high school football player made a powerful statement of his own about the importance of the national anthem just by standing.

As reported by the Dallas Morning News, L.D. Bell junior Vita Tonga of Hurst, Texas, stood at the head of the Bell sideline, directly in front of his wheelchair before the team’s game against Keller on Saturday. The inspiring part about that decision to stand is that it came some 24 hours after he had ACL surgery in his right knee.

“I didn’t really think about it,” Tonga told the Morning News. “People give their lives just so I can stand up over here in the United States. So therefore I feel as as an American citizen I should stand.”

Tonga’s decision to stand reportedly came despite his teammates encouraging him to sit and rest.Clearly, he wasn’t having any of it. That in turn made a very strong statement about how he personally views patriotism and the national anthem, just as many other teens deciding not to stand continues to offer insight into their own view of the social ills facing many in America today.

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