6th Grader Claims a Teacher Assaulted Him by Forcing him Stand for the Pledge

As Colin Kaepernick continues to go unemployed for boycotting the national anthem as a means of drawing attention to racial injustices, people both inside and outside of the league are dealing with their own forms of backlash for exercising their right to criticize the system. And that includes kids in elementary school.



A teacher from Farmington Hills, Michigan has been placed on leave for allegedly assaulting a 6th-grade student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The teacher is now under investigation.



The student, Stone Chaney, had just started his first week at East Middle School when the incident occurred, which Stone described to local outlet ClickOnDetroit​.



"The teacher consultant comes up behind me and snatches me out of my chair violently," Stone said. "I was so confused. I didn't know what was going on."



The alleged assault happened Sept. 7, and Stone said another teacher yelled at him for sitting down during the pledge the very next day. But Stone has a very short list of things he pledges allegiance to. "I don't stand because I don't pledge to a flag," he said. "I pledge to God and family."



In a statement, the superintendent of Farmington Public Schools seemed to back Stone's choice.



"The District fully supports the right of each student to participate or not in the daily Pledge," the statement said. "The teacher allegedly involved in the incident has been placed on administrative leave. At this time, the District cannot speculate about the outcome of the pending investigation."



As for Stone's future at East Middle School, the boy is understandably looking to make a change. "I don't feel safe going to that school anymore because I don't know what they're going to do next," he said.