The Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage players knelt during the national anthem on Saturday when the National League for Women’s Soccer opened the Challenge Cup tournament in Utah.
Players wore Black Lives Matter jerseys in warm-ups before the game, which was televised nationally by CBS. In addition to the anthem, the players knelt for a moment of silence before the kickoff.
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“We kneel today to protest racial injustice, police brutality, and systemic racism against blacks and people of color in the United States. 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, ”Thorns and Courage said in a joint statement released before the game.
The league said Friday that it would play the national anthem before the Challenge Cup games and that it would support players in whatever they choose to do.
The NWSL is the first professional team sport in the United States to return in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. The month-long Challenge Cup opened on Saturday with a couple of games at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.
Megan Rapinoe, who plays for OL Reign but chose to exit the Challenge Cup, was criticized when she knelt down in a NWSL game and a couple of games for the national team in 2016. She said she wanted to express solidarity with the former quarterback. of the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick, who knelt during the anthem to draw attention to racial inequality.
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In response, US Soccer adopted a rule that required players to stand up. But that rule was repealed earlier this month amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd and racial inequality.
Rapinoe expressed her support for NWSL players on social media Saturday: “You love to see these women using their voices, demanding better for the United States, and for black people and people of color.”
