FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon pulled out to fans who were upset when his teammates and Nashville SC players knelt during the national anthem ahead of their matchup on Wednesday night.
Cannon told reporters he was shocked that fans at Toyota Stadium – the home of FC Dallas – were furious as players nodded in protest of rational injustice and police brutality.
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‘I find it disgusting. I think it was absolutely disgusting, ”Cannon said, according to MLSSoccer.com. “You have fans booing for people who take a stand for what they believe in. Millions of other people support this cause and we have discussed with each other team and the league what we will do and we have fans who boo us “How shameful is that? Honestly, for lack of a better word, it put me off. … You can not even have the support of your own fans in your own stadium. It baffles me.”
The national anthem was played because fans were present for the first time since the competition was concluded over the coronavirus pandemic. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said last weekend that the song would be played after it was not played in the MLS’s Back Tournament.
Cannon, who is a U.S. national team member, said Nashville and the league were informed that players could kneel whether the national anthem was played or not. Cannon said the reaction was sincere.
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“As a team, we strive to provide the best possible product in that field and these last six months have been absolute hell for us,” Cannon said. “And the opportunity presented itself to play last night and unfortunately we are crazy and not overwhelmed to get the win, but I was pissed. Everyone around me was pissed.
‘Ryan Hollingshead, the first thing he said to me after we got up from the knee, he said’ I’m sorry. ‘ I’m sorry for our fans, because we had someone singing ‘USA’ when they did not understand what throat means, they did not understand why we kneel, ” Cannon went on, ‘they can not see the reason , they just think we’re the ignorant and it’s incredibly frustrating.
“And I’m sorry to have this tone, but you have to call it for what it is. I know even when we decided to kneel, I knew it was going to happen. That should tell you something, I knew we will have some negative pushback from having a uniform response about what’s going on. That’s the problem, that’s a problem. “
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Nashville came away with the victory, 1-0.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
