Should knee be taken for hurt football players?

The recent collection of letters to the editor and frequent chants from the stands on Friday night seems to make it clear fans are focused on the latest high school football trend: taking a knee when a player is injured.

The genesis of the practice is unclear. It could have come from soccer or football at pee-wee levels, where kids are asked to drop to one knee not so much out of respect but to keep them under control while the coach tends to the injury.

But somewhere along the line, as the players grew out of youth leagues and into high school, the on-field genuflect has come along for the ride.

A survey of nine Modesto coaches reveals only two schools -- Big Valley Christian and Johansen High -- have a team policy that calls for players to take a knee.

Several of the remaining seven teams take a knee when a player is down, but not out of policy, and at least three coaches said they would rather not have players take a knee.

And all coaches surveyed agreed no insult is ever implied or taken when the other team fails to kneel during an injury timeout.

Here's what the coaches, polled Monday at the weekly Quarterback Club luncheon at Monaco's, had to say about the take-a-knee trend:

Ron Brace, Big Valley Christian assistant

"We take a knee and we pray for that player, that the injury is not serious or life-threatening. That's just the way we do it. I've heard something about this going back to youth football, and I coached there for 19 years and we always took a knee -- not to pray but in respect for the guy who went down. I'm not offended if the other team doesn't take a knee. It's their decision. This is just something we do."

Rod Long, Modesto High

"If it's something serious, I guess the players could take a knee. I wouldn't consider it disrespectful if the other team didn't take a knee if we had a player down. I don't know when or where taking a knee came to be considered a sign of respect. It's not something I tell my kids to do. If a kid is down for a long period of time and it's cold, the last thing some of the kids need to be doing is taking a knee. They need to be moving around so they can stay injury-free. I don't know where it's from. I think we can blame soccer."

Doug Severe, Beyer High

"I think it stems from little kids' soccer. Our kids have started taking a knee because that's what the parents are screaming at them to do from the stands. Our thoughts are with the kid who is down whether we take a knee or not, because he could be seriously hurt. We do it, but I don't know why."

Sam Young, Modesto Junior College

"We're so affected by the media, and if you watch the movie 'Friday Night Lights,' when the guy gets hurt bad, everybody on the field takes a knee. That's where it came from. Taking a knee never has been in our plan. We try to get water to our players during that time. We never want to celebrate when somebody gets hurt. We want to act as classy as possible."

Jeremy Plaa, Downey High

"When I first started at Downey, all the kids did it automatically, and it wasn't something I preached or taught. It probably was a tradition from before I got there. I can see why some coaches don't do it. If you get a cramp because you take a knee, then that's a story. I don't care if the other team does or doesn't take a knee. I have a lot of other things to be concerned about."

Chris Cloward, Enochs assistant

"Our whole philosophy is that we're guiding young men into competition as high school football players. We're not 8-year-old soccer players who need to take a knee to be controlled. We stand up and pay respect. We don't talk trash. Taking a knee may be seen as a sign of respect at the lower levels, but as you get older, standing back and staying calm is our sign of respect."