Washington Spirit players 'disappointed' in anthem move directed at Megan Rapinoe
Players of the Washington Spirit have voiced disappointment with the club's controversial decision to play the national anthem early on Wednesday in an effort to prevent Megan Rapinoe from kneeling during it. In a joint letter issued on Friday, the players said they didn't necessarily agree with the decision and wanted the opportunity to weigh in on the matter.
"We respect our owner’s freedom to share his views and we understand his intentions. But as a team we don’t necessarily agree with those opinions or the actions taken on Wednesday evening," the statement said. "We believe in freedom of speech and expression as long as it’s respectfully demonstrated, even when we don’t agree on every issue. As a team, we were disappointed we were not informed of the plans for the national anthem or given an opportunity to weigh in on the decision."
Spirit players learned of the change to the anthem procedure in the locker room from coach Jim Gabarra after the decision had already been made.
Rapinoe, a winger for the Seattle Reign and the U.S. national team, knelt during the Star-Spangled Banner last weekend in a "nod" to NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who said he was protesting "a country that oppresses black people and people of color" in light of high-profile cases of police brutality. She said she intended to continue, but Spirit owner Bill Lynch had the anthem played while both the Reign and Spirit were still in their locker rooms before Wednesday's game and then he issued a strong rebuke of her planned protest, calling it "insulting" and "disrespectful."
The decision to play the anthem early and then send out a press release that said it was done to "avoid taking focus away from the game" while accusing Rapinoe of "hijacking" the match clearly backfired, as the anthem debacle became the main focus of the evening. But the Spirit had perhaps their most important home match in club history and their win over the Reign secured a home playoff match for the first time in the NWSL.
"We regret that a historic accomplishment for the club was overshadowed by decisions that had nothing to do with the match," the players said in Friday's statement. "The chance to fully celebrate this achievement with our supporters and staff was taken from us. There are so many positive stories that should have been highlighted. It saddens us that these were lost in the moment."
NWSL commissioner Jeff Plush was at the match and said that he was not informed ahead of time about the decision, either.
"I would have preferred to have had an honest dialogue of what we wanted to do, what their goals were, and then work through it," he said on Wednesday. "I don’t suggest I have all the answers, but it’s better to talk about it. I’m disappointed."
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