A couple in Utah waving the 13-starred Betsy Ross flag at a Real Salt Lake soccer game was told to stash their American banner or risk ejection from the game by stadium personnel.
Randolf and Diana Scott consider themselves to be superfans of the Major League Soccer team in Salt Lake City and suggested that the flag was just a part of their normal expression of fandom in the stadium. “Soccer is just a big part of our life,” Diana said of their head-to-toe Real attire.
The couple said that the American flag has long been a part of their expression when attending soccer games but that the Betsy Ross flag was indeed a new addition. “Diana bought it for me actually, because my other flag was kind of old and falling apart.”
The flag, which was designed by Betsy Ross at the start of the American Revolution in 1776, represents the original 13 colonies in a circular pattern along with the 13 bars and stripes still represented on the flag today. The vintage design has recently been the subject of controversy as some outlets have asserted that it is associated with hate groups. Nike recently halted production of sneakers that were intended to don an image of the flag.
“They kept telling us if he wasn’t going to take it down, we were going to be rejected from the game,” Diana Scott said of the couples attempt to wave the flag at a Real Salt Lake game. Stadium officials claimed the flag was a “symbol for hate groups.”
“He asked me — he’s like, ‘So what’s the purpose of the flag?'” Randolf said of the stadium official’s confrontation. “I was like, ‘Well ’cause, we love America’ … When people see me or Diana with this flag, I hope they can understand that it’s about the freedoms we have here in America. The legacy that America has.”
A statement from Real Chief Business Officer Andy Carroll implied that the flag represented values that were inconsistent with the soccer team’s. “Recently, and very controversially as well as surprising to us, the Colonial flag has been adopted as a symbol for hate groups,” Carroll said. “Any controversial flags or other similar banners or signs with symbols of hatred, divisiveness and/or intolerance whether intentional or otherwise will not be permitted in our stadiums. Period.”
