Up Next

Police officers keep watch near Seattle Reign FC forward Megan Rapinoe (15), who said she would take a knee during the national anthem at the Maryland SoccerPlex’s Maureen Hendricks Field on Sept. 7, 2016, in Boyds, Maryland. The anthem was played while the teams were in the locker room to avoid controversy. Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images
3 min read

Team turns its back on Megan Rapinoe

Washington Spirit moves up national anthem to prevent her protest

Clinton Yates @clintonyates
Topics:
Soccer Social Activism Colin Kaepernick National Anthem Megan Rapinoe All Day

Up Next From Sports

    12:19 PMAs far as athletes go, Megan Rapinoe is about as much an American hero as anyone who’s ever competed for the United States. And the league she plays for, of which she is arguably the most recognizable player, decided that her protest of the national anthem in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was not appropriate for game day. So instead of allowing a player to exercise her constitutional rights, the Washington Spirit got sneaky.

    Rapinoe wasn’t allowed the opportunity to kneel during The Star-Spangled Banner because, at the venue, the Washington Spirit became the first team to take an actual stand against self-expression. Many athletes, loudmouth coaches and others have but this is the first time we’ve seen an actual sports franchise take such a stand. “To willingly allow anyone to hijack this tradition that means so much to millions of Americans and so many of our own fans for any cause would effectively be just as disrespectful as doing it ourselves,” the team said in a statement.

    We’re just going to ignore the fact that this letter is double-spaced, but that alone should clue you into just how out of touch whomever wrote it is. Let’s analyze the word choices here. This statement uses the word “hijack,” specifically, more than once. There is also a reference to “overseas conflicts,” which we’re just going to presume is a veiled reference to the Iraq War and its fallout. That war happened because this country started it following the 9/11 attacks.

    Yet, the Washington Spirit seem to think that Rapinoe taking a knee during a song is aptly described as “hijacking.”

    Rapinoe is a gay American who’s been on the forefront of the fight for equality as long as she’s been in the public eye. Her identity as a woman who has not been afraid to stand up for her rights is well-documented. Her own team, the Seattle Reign, had her back.

    Back in 2013, Spirit owner Bill Lynch — a U.S. military veteran — wrote a public letter to the fans of his franchise, titled “Why I’m Doing This.” In it, he explained his reasons for why he supported women’s soccer and was getting back into another iteration of a professional league.

    “I don’t know of a better environment where this level of role models exists for our kids today,” he wrote. “By the way, there are a few things that most of us adults can also learn from the players.”

    You don’t say.

    Clinton Yates is a tastemaker at Andscape. He likes rap, rock, reggae, R&B and remixes — in that order.