White Navy vet kneels in a Black Lives Matter shirt during national anthem

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On Friday night, cheerleaders for the DeSoto and Cedar Hill high schools’ football teams knelt during the national anthem before the game between their two schools to protest the treatment of people of color in the United States. What’s more, on Tuesday, the DeSoto girls’ volleyball team took a knee during the national anthem at one of their games as well.

Their actions, and the backlash that followed, didn’t go unnoticed, and Albert Woolum, a white Navy veteran, saw not only the protest but the abuse that the girls suffered and knew he had to act.

He found out when the next volleyball game would be and made sure he was there, not only to show his support but also to participate in their protest. During the national anthem, he took a knee, and he spent the entire game in a Black Lives Matter tee shirt.

Woolum later explained his decision to support the girls and their protest: “The decision they made to kneel at their last game, they caught a lot of flak for that. I saw that on the news. I looked when their next game was, and I came to support them to let them know somebody in the white community cares.”

Check out the pictures from the game, as well as the Twitter reaction, below.

Navy Veteran and grandfather, Al Woolum, took a knee and wore a #BlackLivesMatter t-shirt at a recent high school girl’s volleyball game. pic.twitter.com/gsWWgK5j71

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 25, 2016

THIS is how you put skin in the game. Thank you #AlWoolum for being outraged & inspired to act. #blacklivesmatter #veteransforkaepernick https://t.co/oxcZ1dCJys

— Miss Lori (@misslori) September 26, 2016

This is giving me so much life #AlWoolum for congress lol https://t.co/ycW9Ch26Ui

— Alexander Pettyton (@Kenien) September 25, 2016