And while supporters of the Georgia flag say it symbolizes the state's history, the current flag was not adopted until 1956.

"Without commenting specifically on the Georgia flag or any other state flag, we in the N.F.L. do not condone any racist symbol," said Joe Browne, a league spokesman.

The right two-thirds of the Georgia flag is identical to the Confederate battle flag.

But he knew Barnes had tried to do something about the Confederate symbol on the Georgia flag.

A number of Civil War battle re-enactors were denied permission to take place in various events, and some blacks burned the Georgia flag Friday.

Gov. George E. Pataki and two black state legislators made a similar point today, removing the Georgia flag from the State Capitol because it incorporates the Confederate battle flag.

Unlike any other Georgia flag, it will have the motto "In God We Trust."

I pray that the old Georgia flag with the Confederate battle emblem will not be resurrected.

The A.C.L.U. has opposed the use of the Confederate emblem on the Georgia flag, but said it regarded the case as a free-speech issue.

Two-thirds of the Georgia flag consists of the Confederate battle symbol, placed there by the State Legislature in 1956, two years after school segregation was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.