Iowa high school students apologize for wearing patriotic colors during basketball game

Students at Valley High School in Des Moines, Iowa, issued an apology after they became aware that their red, white and blue apparel might have offended a rival school.

Valley High School students opted to wear USA-themed attire instead of their school colors, black and orange, to a basketball game against North High School on March 8, according to WHO.

However, their patriotic clothing was misconstrued by some as "offensive" because many of the rival school's players hailed from refugee families.

"Any normal person, any educated person can look at that and think, 'What the hell are these kids thinking?'" said Morgan Wheat, an assistant coach at North High School.

"Kids are kids, I get it, but I do have questions. I want to know why."

On Thursday, Valley High School's Student Leadership members reportedly hand-delivered an apology letter to make amends with their neighboring school.

They also shared the letter on Facebook:

North High School basketball coach Chad Ryan spoke out on the allegations, saying he doesn't think it's fair to assume Valley students meant any malice towards his team with their chosen attire.

"I don't want to judge those young people not knowing their motives," Ryan told the Des Moines Register. "What I will say is we're proud of our diversity at North High School — not only on our basketball team, but our population."