Bob Collins
It’s been obvious since the moment Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem last week that the protest would spread.
Yesterday, it did when soccer star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the National Anthem before last evening’s National Women’s Soccer League match between the Chicago Red Stars and the Seattle Reign, for whom Rapinoe plays.
“It was very intentional,” she told American Soccer Now. “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.
“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.”
Related: Obama: Colin Kaepernick exercising his constitutional right (Chicago Tribune)
