After spreading around the NFL, the protest quarterback Colin Kaepernick started has made its way down to high school football.

Over the weekend in Colorado, more than 75 percent of the football players for the Aurora Central Trojans knelt during the playing of the American National Anthem. The families in the fans in the audience were torn, as half yelled in protest afterwards, while the other half held up their fists in alliance.

The protests began in the beginning of the football season when Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, started kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem as a way of fighting “racial oppression and inequality.”

Vicqari Horton, a junior tight end for the Aurora Central Trojans, began kneeling during the National Anthem in mid-September. “You can’t continue to slap people in the face and not expect them to stand up,” he told The New York Times. “When Kaepernick kneeled, he gave us an outlet. He gave us something to do.” He continued,” Unless we walk in their shoes and feel what they feel on an everyday basis, we have no room to judge. We can choose to support, or not support and be blind.”

One mother of a Trojan player, Maria Mitchell, was a military wife for more than twenty five years, and believes, “that standing for the anthem is a way to honor lives lost in war.” Yet she can’t help and agree with the young boys. She told the Times, “if you’re not a person of color, you don’t understand any of it.”

Not far from the game in Colorado, students at Madison East and Madison West, high schools in Madison, Wisconsin, dropped to their knees as well.

Players all around the country have been kneeling. Yet, it is not only players of football teams around America who have been kneeling. In schools such as Omaha Central High, band members and cheerleaders have joined in on the protest.

In Beaumont, Texas, kids as young as 11 and 12 have also joined the protest on their youth team, Beaumont Bulls. This has stirred a huge controversy in the town; some applauded the young players while others called for “the coaches to be lynched and the children to be killed.”

Williston Senior Will Fokas revealed his opinion on the matter. “I don’t agree with what he is doing, but America is a free country so he can do this.” He added that he thinks part of the reason students may be protesting is to get attention.

“I respect what he is doing, however I don’t agree with it,” said senior Jake Prossner. “I think it’s making kids pick a side without knowing everything exactly what they are getting themselves into.”

“This is America right?” said senior Chris Espinal. “I have no reason to judge anyone on their decision. If schools want to let their students kneel than so be it. But at the end of the day, after football teams take a knee or not, they come together and play the game as a team.