Lou Holtz said he is helping Dr. Ben Carson start a national program to benefit inner-city youth in which "we're going to teach them to stand for the flag and we're going to kneel for the cross."
The former Notre Dame football coach announced the sports and community work program called What's Important Now with Carson, secretary for the Housing and Urban Development, on Saturday's Fox News show "Justice With Judge Jeanine."
"What we're talking about is getting people to make good choices," Holtz told show host Jeanine Pirro. "… Not only are we talking about maybe a role model for these young people, but getting them to raise their self-image to believe that they can do things."
His comment about standing for the flag and kneeling for the cross was prompted by Pirro who asked, "Are we going to teach them not to take a knee?"
The question referred to the NFL players protests for the past two seasons in which some athletes took a knee during the national anthem.
"The important thing is communication," Carson added afterward.
Carson told Pirro the program will have satellites throughout the country and its four pillars will be economic empowerment, educational advancement, health and wellness, and character and leadership.
"All of which are things normally occur in a healthy, well-functioning home environment, but that does not necessarily exist for everybody," Carson said. "As a society, we can create that and we can make that happen."
Holtz, one of the winningest coaches in college football history, led the football program at Notre Dame for 11 seasons, winning the national championship in 1996 and going to nine consecutive New Year's Day bowl game appearances, according to IrishLegends.com.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.