Source: Suntorn Niamwhan / EyeEm / Getty
The Washington Spirit is a female soccer team that plays in the National Women’s Soccer League and Megan Rapinoe is a Midfielder who plays for the Seattle Professional Team.
Megal Rapinoe has been supporting the actionl of San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick when he refused to stand for the singing of the National Anthem during a recent game to protest the way minorities are being treated in this country. Kaepernick has been getting support from all walks of life including fellow players in the NFL and now in the Women’s Soccer League.
After the controversy hit the national media; Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel for the Anthem instead of just sitting down, and other players are following suit. Megal Rapinoe has decided to kneel also in his support.
The Seattle Professional Team played in Washington against the Washington Spirit, but the team decided to play the National Anthem before Megal Rapinoe & the Seattle Team got to the field. The Spirit put out a formal statement on why they did the Anthem much earlier than usual.
“We decided to play the anthem in our stadium ahead of schedule rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent,” the Spirit said in a statement. “We understand this may be seen as an extraordinary step, but believe it was the best option to avoid taking focus away from the game on such an important night for our franchise.”
The Washington Post quoted Megn Rapinoe as saying – “I tried to hijack this event.” The Spirt was quoted as saying “It was incredibly distasteful, four days before one of the worst tragedies in our country, to say something like that.”
The Washington Spirit said that players who refuse to stand or kneel durng the National Anthem are exercising they 1st Amendment rights; but on the other hand, with us doing the National Anthem at a different time – we are exercising our 1st Amendment rights.
