Washington Spirit players disagree with owner preventing Rapinoe's protest
In a statement on Friday, Washington Spirit players voiced their respectful disagreement with team owner Bill Lynch’s decision to play the national anthem ahead of schedule on Wednesday, preventing Seattle Reign midfielder Megan Rapinoe from protesting.
“We respect our owner’s freedom to share his views and we understand his intentions,” the statement read. “But as a team we don’t necessarily agree with those opinions or the actions taken on Wednesday evening.”
They added that they would have liked to have been consulted or even informed about the move.
Rapinoe planned on taking a knee during the national anthem in “a nod to [Colin] Kaepernick” but Lynch, a veteran, had the anthem played while players from both teams were in the locker room.
“While we respect every individual’s right to express themselves, and believe Ms. Rapinoe to be an amazing 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,” Lynch wrote in a statement.
Kaepernick, the 49ers' backup quarterback, has been in the news lately for choosing not to stand for the national anthem before preseason games, protesting what he believes is racial equality in America and police violence.
“It’s f---ing unbelievable. Saddened by it,” Rapinoe said of Lynch’s decision on Wednesday, according to the Washington Post. “It was incredibly distasteful, four days before one of the worst tragedies in our country, to say I tried to hijack this event.”
The Reign came out in support of Rapinoe’s decision to protest last week, and the midfielder said she’d continue the protest during future USWNT matches.
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