U.S. Women’s Soccer Star Protests National Anthem Again Despite Warning, Pays The Price

by Cassy Fiano | September 29, 2017 3:48 pm

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kicked off the National Anthem protests in the NFL and they spread like wildfire. A year has passed and the protests are still going strong — and they aren’t just in the NFL anymore. U.S. women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe took a knee during the National Anthem, but Team USA apparently isn’t too fond of her stunt.

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U.S. Soccer released an official statement saying that both coaches and players are expected to remain standing during the National Anthem. But during a September 18th game against the Netherlands, Rapinoe still knelt, in protest of what she claims to be oppression and injustice in the United States.

Rapinoe originally began kneeling in solidarity with Kaepernick, but U.S. Soccer was not impressed. “As part of the privilege to represent your country, we have an expectation that our players and coaches will stand and honor our flag while the national anthem is played,” a statement from the organization read.

Still, Rapinoe has been tweeting and retweeting support for the protests over the past several weeks.

So far, Rapinoe has not been punished by U.S. Soccer, but ESPN has reported that if she continues to kneel, the situation will be re-evaluated.

Fans also don’t seem to appreciate her protest; during a home game against the Netherlands, one fan yelled, “Stand up!!” as she knelt. But Rapinoe said she will continue to kneel, even if it means she will face suspension.

“As of now I plan to keep kneeling,” she said in an interview with ESPN. “I’m trying to kind of formulate a better plan and an action step moving forward. But until then, this is how I can help, this is how I can use my voice going forward, and this is how I can be an ally in this space.”

She also has argued that it’s important that the protest comes from a white person. “It was really important for that message to come from someone who looks like me,” she said to BBC. “Everyone who has a pair of eyes in this country understands the racial tensions and the issues we have are very serious and they’re not going away. If we want to be proud to be from a country like America and all the things that we hang our hats on like diversity, equality, land of the free and home of the brave, it’s everybody’s responsibility to ensure that everyone in the country is being afforded the same rights.”

What do you think of her protest?

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/rndr_670x377-1.jpg
  2. @mosesbread72: https://twitter.com/mosesbread72?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  3. https://t.co/A49m5nGydN: https://t.co/A49m5nGydN
  4. September 13, 2017: https://twitter.com/mPinoe/status/908036220072091648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  5. pic.twitter.com/cn9nostuUE: https://t.co/cn9nostuUE
  6. September 20, 2017: https://twitter.com/deray/status/910465668335702016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  7. https://t.co/3POZSACvIm: https://t.co/3POZSACvIm
  8. September 26, 2017: https://twitter.com/mPinoe/status/912472408807809024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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