The Washington Spirit decided not to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the customary time Wednesday, in part to avoid another Colin Kaepernick moment.
The Spirit were playing the Seattle Reign on Wednesday night, and Reign star Megan Rapinoe had knelt during the national anthem at their previous game and declared she would do so again, in solidarity with the San Francisco 49ers player’s protest.
So the Spirit decided to play the anthem before the players went onto the field.
In a statement released shortly after the kickoff, team owner Bill Lynch, a veteran who had lost friends in wars, said he decided that averting another Rapinoe protest was paramount.
“We decided to play the anthem in our stadium ahead of schedule rather than subject out fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent,” the Spirit said.
The team called Ms. Rapinoe “an amazing individual with a huge heart,” but added that players should speak on public issues “without insulting our military and our fans.”
The team, nevertheless acknowledged that playing the anthem away from Ms. Rapinoe “may be seen as an extraordinary step” and apologized for denying other players “their own opportunity to honor our great country.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.