Pickup Truck Protesters Flying Confederate Flag Outside NCAA Tournament

The NCAA lifted its ban on holding tournament games in South Carolina after the Confederate flag was removed from the State House. Some guys in pickup trucks are flying their own Confederate flag outside the tournament venue in Greenville as some sort of protest over their right to celebrate a 19th-century fight to keep black people enslaved.

The NCAA offered an emphatically neutral statement in response.

"“The NCAA is proud and excited to host championships in the state of South Carolina once again,” Dan Gavitt, the NCAA senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement. “We are committed to assuring that our events are safe and accessible to all. No symbols that compromise that commitment will be permitted to be displayed on venue property that the tournament controls. Freedom of speech activities on public property in areas surrounding the arena are managed by the city of Greenville and we are supportive of the city’s efforts.”"

Per the AP, Greenville police forced the group to move 50 feet back due to “safety concerns if the flag tipped over.”