FC Dallas announced that players will remain in their locker rooms to play the national anthem ahead of Sunday’s game against Nashville SC (live stream on ESPN + in the US), although it will be a moment of silence for racial equality to promote.
“In consultation with our players and MLS, we have collectively decided to play the national anthem before the players take the field for tonight’s game against Nashville SC,” the statement read. “Before the start of the game, there will be a moment of silence for the players, coaches and everyone present to promote racial equality.”
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The move comes in response to a series of incidents before, during and after Wednesday’s match between the same two sides. In response to players’ choice to kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement for the national anthem, some fans booted the players while another threw a bottle at them. An FCD spokesman said the perpetrator who threw the object was delayed.
After the game, FCD defender Reggie Cannon was interviewed and expressed his displeasure over the response of some fans as “absolutely disgusting.” He added, “You can not even have the support of your own fans in your own stadium. It’s absolutely baffling to me.”
Cannon was subsequently subjected to reports of death and racism on social media, with MLS commissioner Don Garber and FCD owners Dan and Clark Hunt issuing statements in support of the player.
An FCD spokesman told ESPN that there would be improved security measures for Sunday’s game, although they declined to specify exactly what steps would be taken.
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