US women’s national team member Megan Rapinoe planned to kneel for the playing of the national anthem Wednesday in Washington, D.C., as she had done three days earlier.
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Rapinoe knelt during “The Star Spangled Banner” before her game on Sunday in Chicago and vowed to continue to do so in support of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who did not stand for the song before his National Football League team’s last two pre season games to protest against racial injustice and police brutality.
Kaepernick, a San Francisco 49ers quarterback, declined to stand during the playing of the national anthem ahead of a pre-season game on August 26 and a game last week, prompting both outrage and support from NFL players and fans across the country.
“While we respect every individual’s right to express themselves, and believe Ms. Rapinoe to be an wonderful individual with a huge heart; we respectfully disagree with her method of hijacking our organization’s event to draw attention to what is ultimately a personal – albeit worthy – cause…”
The Spirit said team owner Bill Lynch is a veteran who has lost friends in overseas conflicts, as had his close friends.
The 31-year-old Rapinoe helped the US win the World Cup last year and played in the Rio Olympics.
“I didn’t hear it and I wasn’t exactly sure why it wasn’t played”, Rapinoe said, via the Washington Post. Megan stated she will meet with the veterans prior to the match, but at this point, it is still her intention to kneel during the national anthem.
Rapinoe, a World Cup victor and Olympic gold medalist, took a knee during “The Star Spangled Banner” Sunday night in a game against the Chicago Red Stars.
Megan Rapinoe sits on the empty field following the Seattle Reign’s loss in the 2015 NWSL Championship previous year.
“While we respect every individual’s right to express themselves, and believe Ms. Rapinoe to be an wonderful individual with a huge heart, we respectfully disagree with her method of hijacking our organization’s event to draw attention to what is ultimately a personal – albeit worthy – cause”.
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“So I applaud him for taking a stand and hopefully the conversation is about what his message was and not, ‘Is he going to stand or is he going to sit for the national anthem?'”. Rapinoe, who is gay, indicated she’d continue her protest to draw attention to the oppression of minority groups in the U.S. Not standing for the anthem was insulting to the military and fans, the team added. “This is an issue we are communicating to and with them about personally”.
