Following a rash of social media posts over the weekend, Prince Edward County High School issued a response Monday to claims that during a football game in Amelia last Friday players walked off the field during the playing of the National Anthem.

According to Prince Edward County Public Schools (PECPS) Family and Community Engagement Liaison Jennifer Kinne, Prince Edward players moved from their warmups on the field to the visitor’s locker room when the National Anthem began playing.

“Because of the various bands and changes to accommodate the Amelia homecoming activities, our players and a few of our coaches did not hear the musical transition and continued to move to their designated area,” Kinne said. “The team’s absence from the football field was not in protest nor support of any national events, rather, the team was going to the locker room for last-minute preparation and to await the beginning of the game.”

Kinne said the mission of PECPS is to inspire their students and to provide them with all the tools and resources to be productive citizens.

“To that end, (PECPS) would never deliberately disrespect the National Anthem or any facet of it,” Kinne said. “We are focused on empowering our students to be leaders, both on and off of the athletic field, and we aspire to be united in excellence.”

She said that moving forward, the division will take great strides and measures to make certain that students are in unison with one another before, during and after all games.