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| Megan Rapinoe seen here kneeling during a national anthem before the woman National league match |
Since NFL quarterback Colin
Kaepernick refused to stand for the US national anthem before a game, in support of the
#BlackLivesMatters movement, more and more sports personalities have been
showing solidarity in different forms.
Latest on the list is a female
U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who knelt during the national anthem Sunday
night before the Seattle Reign's game against the Chicago Red Stars in support
of Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick's refusal to
stand for the anthem to protest racial injustice and minority oppression came
to public notice when he remained seated on the bench before a preseason game
against Green Bay. On Thursday night in San Diego, he and safety Eric Reid
kneeled during the anthem before a game against the Chargers.
"It was very
intentional," Rapinoe
told American Soccer Now after Seattle's 2-2 tie in the National Women's Soccer League
game. "It was a little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he's standing
for right now. I think it's actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated
and the way that a lot of the media has covered it and made it about something
that it absolutely isn't. We need to have a more thoughtful, two-sided
conversation about racial issues in this country.
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| Megan Rapinoe in US Female National team Jersey |
"Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the
flag and not have it protect all of your liberties. It was something small that
I could do and something that I plan to keep doing in the future and hopefully
spark some meaningful conversation around it. It's important to have white
people stand in support of people of color on this. We don't need to be the
leading voice, of course, but standing in support of them is something that's
really powerful."
Rapinoe,
31, helped the United States win the World Cup last year and played in the Rio
Olympics.
"It's
the least I can do. Keep the conversation going," Rapinoe tweeted.
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