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When asked during a post-game news conference whether he was aware of his player's intent to kneel, Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis said he was not, but added that the protest was \"all about the hate groups\" who were \"trying to spread racism and bigotry\" in the community.

\"It's created a lot of tension for our campus,\" he said. \"I think our players made an emotional decision to show these people they're not welcome on our campus, and we respect our players' freedom and ability to choose that.\"

Here are Kermit and Breein Tyree talking about today's #OleMiss and #Oxford marches pic.twitter.com/5ErOAnGrFT

— Nick Suss (@nicksuss) February 23, 2019

Junior guard Breein Tyree, who appeared to be one of the last to kneel, said during the news conference that there was no discussion among the players on how to respond to the rallies but rather they saw one of their teammates doing it and they \"just didn't want him to be alone.\"

\"We're just tired of these hate groups coming to our school and portraying our campus like it's our actual university having these hate groups in our school,\" Tyree said.

To the people that fight for this country, my teammates and I meant no disrespect to everything that you do for us, but we had to take a stand to the negative things that went on today on our campus. #WeNeedChange

— Breein Tyree (@Breety5) February 23, 2019

Kneeling during the national anthem became a controversial form of protest among athletes after Colin Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, took a knee before NFL games during the 2016 season to bring awareness to police brutality and other forms of injustice against African-Americans. The issue became such a hot topic that even President Trump inserted himself into the debate, calling on the NFL to stop the players from kneeling.

Coach Davis, who emphasized standing for the national anthem while he was coaching at Middle Tennessee State, said the Ole Miss basketball team would be one that \"respects the flag and the national anthem\" when he was introduced as its new head coach last year, according to ESPN.

Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork said in a statement that the protest \"had nothing to do with the anthem\" but was meant to send a message to the out-of-state groups that they were not welcome on the campus.

Two Pro-Confederate groups marched from the Oxford Square to the Circle on campus. @isthatbritt caught up with a few students that looked on and showed up to counter-protest. pic.twitter.com/jsyMRsLh7M

— NewsWatch Ole Miss (@NewsWatch_UM) February 24, 2019

Bjork said he had a conversation with the players in the locker room after the game to tell them that he supports them because the university \"doesn't want those people here, either.\"

\"PHOTO:
Nathanael Gabler/The Oxford Eagle via AP
PHOTO: Six Mississippi basketball players take a knee during the national anthem before an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia in Oxford, Miss., Feb. 23, 2019.
>

The Rebels defeated the Bulldogs, 72 to 71.

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