More than half of the US team refused to sing the national anthem before the match against the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images/Buda Mendes
“I really believe that their version of what a feminist is, what it means to be a powerful woman, at least as an American, means that you need to hate your country,” she said candidly podcast to his audience on the Megyn Kelly show on SiriusXM. .
“It means going on the national stage and disgracing yourself and your country by not playing the national anthem. For some of them, who didn't even put their hands over their hearts during the national anthem, it was too far.
“They didn't bother to put their hands over their hearts when the national anthem was played, as they stood there representing you and me, and the country, and our military, and the people who gave their lives for the country they represent.
“It took too much effort for them to put their hands on their hearts or, God forbid, to sing.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has also been critical, posting on social media, “US women's soccer team is living the American dream. They were born in the freest and fairest country in the world, which rewarded their hard work. They should remember this blessing and the men and women (like my husband) who will proudly defend it the next time the national anthem is played.” for social justice movements, were once again defiant in their pre-match lineup. Andy Sullivan, Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox, Trinity Rodman and Crystal Dunn did not sing the anthem in the first match against Vietnam last Saturday and refused to sing again against the Dutch.
But their teammates, including the captain Lindsey Horan, forward Alex Morgan and goaltender Alyssa Naeher shouted the words “Stars and Stripes Banner” with their hands over their hearts.
Gyrm's defender brushed it aside. criticized in preparation for the game, but declined to go into detail on why the players are in a certain position. “I think when we're there, we're getting ready for the game and that's not the point,” Girma said earlier this week. “So every player has a choice.”
Player protests around the anthem began in 2016 when outspoken player Megan Rapinoe was inspired to take a knee after American footballer Colin Kaepernick did the same to highlight racial inequality and police brutality in the US.
Rapinoe takes a knee in 2016. Credit: AP/John Bazemore
The following year, US Soccer introduced a policy whereby players could not kneel during the national anthem, but this was repealed in February 2021 ahead of a match later that year against Australia at the Olympics , where all but one of the players knelt down.
Rapineau said ahead of the last World Cup in France in 2019: “Perhaps I will never lay my hand on my heart. I will probably never sing the national anthem again. I feel like it's a kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey and represent it.”
The women's team was in a longstanding dispute with US Soccer until last February. the year their equal pay lawsuit against the federation was settled for $24m (£19m).
The team at least got support from an unlikely source for tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who told critics : “Get a grip.”
Navratilova, who earlier this month criticized Rapinoe's views on transgender athletes, responded to Haley's comments by saying: “They defend it by playing their best and winning most of the time . . Not singing. Pull yourself together and start talking about solutions instead of looking for problems where there aren't any.”
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