Megan Rapinoe Kneels For National Anthem Before U.S. Friendly 9-0 Win Over Thailand

Megan Rapinoe once again knelt during the national anthem Thursday before the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s game against Thailand in Columbus, Ohio, in her first on-field appearance since a National Women’s Soccer League match on Sept. 7.

Megan Rapinoe Kneels For National Anthem Before U.S. Friendly 9-0 Win Over Thailand

The midfielder was not part of the starting lineup, but entered along with four other substitutions at the beginning of the second half with the U.S. up 4-0. Rapinoe took one shot, and the USWNT won 9-0.

On Sept. 4, Rapinoe became the first active non-black professional athlete to demonstrate support for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest during an NFL preseason game in August.

The 31-year-old Seattle Reign star, who played for the U.S. women’s team at the Rio 2016 Olympics, later complemented her action with a tweet, in which she said: “It’s the least I can do. Keep the conversation going.”

Rapinoe’s move did not sit well with U.S. Soccer, however. On Sept. 7, she planned to kneel again before a NWSL match between the Reign and the Spirit, but she was stymied by the Spirit, who played the anthem before the teams were on the field.

That night, Washington’s team issued a statement that read: “In light of Seattle Reign and U.S. Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe’s public declaration that she intended to ‘take a knee’ during the United States’ national anthem tonight, we decided to play the anthem in our stadium ahead of schedule rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent.”

Rapinoe responded by saying she was “saddened” by the Spirit’s decision. Evidently, she was not afraid to repeat her protest while representing the U.S. women’s national team.

“I think ultimately I just went with what’s in my heart,” Rapinoe said in an interview on ESPN after Thursday’s game against Thailand.

When asked about the consequences of protesting the national anthem in a U.S. jersey, the midfielder added: “I think it is different. I think it means a lot more. I truly feel like I am representing my country by doing this, in representing everyone that lives in this country, not just the people who look like me.”

The string of anthem and flag protests by athletes— both professional and non-professional– across the country have arisen due to anger with racial injustice, police brutality and, as Kaepernick– the original leader of the protest– put it, “the oppression of black people and people of color.”

Many have harshly criticized Kaepernick and his followers for disrespecting the police, members of the armed forces, and other people who are commonly associated with the flag. Nevertheless, dozens of military veterans have expressed their approval and support of Kaepernick’s protest, saying he has the right to do so and starting the hashtag #VeteransforKaepernick on social media.

Rapinoe continued her explanation for folllowing Kaepernick’s protest, saying: “I think that we need to look at all the things that we say the flag and the anthem mean and everybody that it represents and all the liberties and the freedoms that we want it to mean to everybody, and ask ourselves, Is it protecting everybody in the same way? Is it giving all the freedoms to everyone in the country the same way, or are there certain people that don’t feel as protected as I do every day?”

She also said that as an openly gay person, she knows how it feels to gaze at the flag and realize America doesn’t always treat or protect everyone the same.

“Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,” Rapinoe told American Soccer Now after the game.

U.S. Soccer also released a statement Thursday night, which read: “Representing your country is a privilege and honor for any player or coach that is associated with U.S. Soccer’s National Team. Therefore, our national anthem has particular significance for U.S. Soccer. In front of national and often global audiences, the playing of our national anthem is an opportunity for our Men’s and Women’s National Team players and coaches to reflect upon the liberties and freedom we all appreciate in this country.

“As part of the privilege to represent your country, we have an expectation that our players and coaches will stand and honor our flag while the National Anthem is played.”

Thursday night’s game also marked the final one of midfielder Heather O’Reilly as a member of the women’s national team; thus some also criticized Rapinoe for switching the attention from O’Reilly to herself.

“She did talk to the team, that she was thinking about doing that,” O’Reilly told ESPNW. “And we know, obviously, why she is doing that — because she loves this country and she wants to see change and that’s how she feels, in her heart, that she’s demonstrating it.”

Captain Carli Lloyd had a hat-trick, Alex Morgan scored two goals, and O’Reilly, Christen Press, Tobin Heath and Crystal Dunn each netted one goal. Lloyd’s hat trick was the seventh of her international career. Her first goal, the first for the U.S., came in the first minute, quickly followed by Press and O’Reilly’s goals in the 4th and 5th minutes, respectively.

The USWNT will next play the Netherlands at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Sunday.

BRASILIA, BRAZIL – AUGUST 12: Megan Rapinoe #15 of United States goes up for the ball against Sweden in the second half as Carli Lloyd #10 of United States looks on during the Women’s Football Quarterfinal match at Mane Garrincha Stadium on Day 7 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 12, 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo by Celso Junior/Getty Images)