This past Monday, Des Moines Roosevelt High School baseball players knelt during the National Anthem before their first game of the season at Principal Park in Des Moines. 

Greene County Schools Activities Director Todd Gordon served as Roosevelt’s AD for four years before he started with the Greene County School District two years ago. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio when a team makes a statement like that, people are too quick to judge what they think it meant. He believes the team knelt mostly in honor of their classmate Abdullahi Sharif who was found dead in a river in May. Gordon adds, he knew the student and understood why the team made their gesture.

“I think the biggest thing we need to do through all of this is to respect everybody’s opinion. We don’t always have to agree with everybody’s opinion, we don’t.”

Gordon says when engaging in conversations that can potentially be controversial or when someone has a different viewpoint, to follow the five “Ls”: listen, learn, lament and empathize with the other person, leveraging the platform to deliver the message, and to show more love for one another. He points out that he wants to create opportunities for Greene County student-athletes to experience different cultures, which may include going outside of the walls of the high school building.