Jones undeterred by hecklers’ taunts
Terps player will continue to kneel during national anthem
Maryland volleyball player Rainelle Jones has been kneeling during the national anthem before the team’s matches for close to a year. She said she’s never encountered backlash — until this month.
During the national anthem before the Terps’ road match against Nebraska on Nov. 12, Jones, graduate student Kaylee Thomas and senior Maddie Naumann took a knee in solidarity with social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.
There was a brief silence before the singer performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” when a spectator yelled to Jones, “Stand up, you piece of trash.” Then a few more people made sniping remarks that echoed throughout Devaney Center.
Maryland and Nebraska players were in shock. Jones looked across the court to see some of the Cornhuskers players upset about what they just heard, she said.
Maryland’s coaching staff and players began to yell, “We love you, [Rainelle]. We are with you.”
Maryland junior Laila Ricks, who usually doesn’t kneel, decided to take a knee in support. Meanwhile, Nebraska senior Lauren Stivrins walked up to Jones before the match to apologize for the fans’ behavior.
“It was definitely a big reminder that there’s still tons of racism,” said Jones, a senior middle blocker who attended Oxon Hill High School in Prince George’s County. “There’s still tons of backlash happening to athletes kneeling during the anthem.”
When the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, Jones had time to do more research on why athletes like former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem. When NBA and WNBA players protested against police brutality and social injustice that summer, Jones said she was more inspired to make a statement for equality.
In addition to kneeling, Jones has “BLM” written on her wrist tape. She admits she knew it was a matter of time before someone had an issue with her protest.
“I was waiting for it since the beginning,” Jones said. “I was talking to my parents about what may or may not happen, and I could receive a lot more hate speech and symbols from other people. I was surprised that it happened so late in the season.”
Maryland coach Adam Hughes said the hateful remarks put the match in a different perspective and that he was sweating, angry and nearly in tears. When the Terps played Iowa the following day, the coach stood by
Jones just in case something similar or worse occurred.
“You’ve got a person you care deeply about out there, and you feel like she got caught,” Hughes said. “You just want to help her. And there is not much you really can do at that moment.”
A Nebraska volleyball spokeswoman said the athletic department is not aware of any disciplinary actions being taken.
“I don’t think it’s our fans’ place to say things during a match,” Nebraska coach John Cook said after the game. “It’s putting judgment on the other team.
“It’s a volleyball match, and we are not here to do that. I’m a little disappointed that it happened, and our players apologized to the Maryland players after the match.”
Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts said in a statement that he was disappointed and apologized to Maryland.
“Our athletic events at Nebraska should always be a place where people can come together to enjoy great competition in a respectful environment,” he said.
Nebraska chancellor Ronnie Green, who attended the game, called it an unfortunate incident.
“People are free to believe whatever they want,” Green said in a statement. “But Nebraska is known for the respect we show to visiting teams and their student-athletes, and I would ask our fans to continue to display that respect.”
Even after the game, backlash continued. Hughes has received hateful emails and direct messages on social media. Jones has seen comments on Twitter and Instagram saying she was disrespecting the military and the American flag.