Why USWNT captain Megan Rapinoe refuses to sing the national anthem | OneFootball

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Dan Burke·15 June 2019

Why USWNT captain Megan Rapinoe refuses to sing the national anthem

Article image:Why USWNT captain Megan Rapinoe refuses to sing the national anthem

Ahead of their 2019 Women’s World Cup opener against Thailand last Tuesday, the United States Women’s National Team gave a traditionally rousing rendition of the ‘Star Spangled Banner’.

But unlike the rest of her team-mates, pink-haired captain Megan Rapinoe – who went on to score in her side’s 13-0 victory – notably maintained a respectful silence for the duration of the anthem.


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Back in 2016, Thailand were also the USWNT’s opponents (the game ended with a slightly more respectable 9-0 scoreline) when Rapinoe made headlines for kneeling during the national anthem.

Article image:Why USWNT captain Megan Rapinoe refuses to sing the national anthem

In doing so, she became the first white athlete to make a gesture of solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers American football star Colin Kaepernick, who first ‘took a knee’ during the national anthem in protest against police brutality and racial inequality.

Article image:Why USWNT captain Megan Rapinoe refuses to sing the national anthem

Rapinoe continues to snub the anthem and in an interview with Yahoo Sports last month, the 33-year-old midfielder – who identifies as a lesbian – explained that her silence is a protest against the policies of president Donald Trump.

“I feel like it’s kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey, and represent it,” she said.

“Because I’m as talented as I am, I get to be here, you don’t get to tell me if I can be here or not.

“So it’s kind of a good ‘F you’ to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don’t look exactly like him. Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary.”

Article image:Why USWNT captain Megan Rapinoe refuses to sing the national anthem

It’s now been over two years since Rapinoe last sang the national anthem before a game. Will she ever do it again?

“It would take a lot,” she added.

“It would take criminal justice reform. It would take the huge inequality gap that we have to be much better. It would take a lot of progress in LGBTQ rights. We just have such a disparity in this country in so many different ways, inequality in so many different ways.

“I’ll probably never put my hand over my heart. I’ll probably never sing the national anthem again.”