Megan Rapinoe Explains Her National Anthem Protest on the Players’ Tribune

United States women’s national team midfielder Megan Rapinoe provided further context Thursday about her decision to support the movement of not standing for the American national anthem, which was sparked by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Although numerous athletes have followed Kaepernick’s lead in recent months, Rapinoe’s decision garnered additional nationwide attention because she knelt during the anthem while representing the United States for international friendlies against Thailand and the Netherlands in September.

The 31-year-old playmaker wrote a piece for the Players’ Tribune in which she explained that she’s never faced the issues of “over-policing, racial profiling, police brutality or the sight of a family member’s body lying dead in the street,” but she felt the need to take a public stance anyway:

I can understand if you think that I’m disrespecting the flag by kneeling, but it is because of my utmost respect for the flag and the promise it represents that I have chosen to demonstrate in this way. When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country’s ultimate symbol of freedom — because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country.

It’s a choice that’s met some …

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