North Carolina Courage, Portland Thorns players kneel during the national anthem

The 22 North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns starters, along with reserves from both teams, knelt during the national anthem ahead of the NWSL Challenge Cup opening game on Saturday. All players also wore shirts over their shirts with the words “Black Lives Matter”.

The game in Herriman, Utah, marked the return of the professional team sports leagues in the United States for the first time since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Players from the two teams issued a joint statement shortly before the kickoff.

“We kneel today to protest racial injustice, police brutality, and systemic racism against blacks and people of color in the United States,” the statement read. “We love our country and have taken this opportunity to keep it at a higher level. It is our duty to demand that the freedoms and liberties on which this nation was founded extend to all.”

Headlines and reserves also briefly knelt a second time immediately before the start, a gesture that most European professional soccer leagues have also taken in recent weeks in response to protests following the death of George Floyd, a black man. , who died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeling on his neck for more than seven minutes in Minneapolis.

You love to see it. You love to see these women using their voice, demanding better for America, and for black people and people of color. @TheNCCourage and @ThornsFC kneeling in solidarity with @ Kaepernick7 and @Blklivesmatter ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/8Urlj5FMPn

– Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) June 27, 2020

Saturday’s players also wore “Black Lives Matter” bracelets in the game.

While there will be no fans present at any of the games at the month-long tournament in Utah, the anthem was played live on the field and broadcast live on CBS.

In addition to kneeling during the two-game anthem with the 2016 U.S. Women’s National Team, Megan Rapinoe also knelt before a NWSL game while playing with the Seattle Reign.

Rapinoe, who now plays for OL Reign, as that team was renamed this offseason, tweeted his support for the players after viewing the screen.

“You love to see these women use their voices, demanding something better for the United States, and for black people and people of color,” the publication said in part.