Frankly, the prohibition against kneeling during the anthem, a policy explicitly directed at Megan Rapinoe, was wrong when it was instituted. It should not have taken an uprising via Black Lives Matter for the National Women’s Soccer League to do what is right. The initial policy was a spiteful, unprofessional abuse of power that reflected extraordinary disrespect for an individual’s personal decision regarding an act that is unique to citizenship. As has been noted many times on this website, what one does during the national anthem is a personal decision and not anyone else’s concern, similar to praying. That some fans took exception should have been an opportunity to educate, not fuel what is clearly a racist objection borne out of the belief that all citizens must accept the notion of American exceptionalism. That we are better off pretending that this country’s Black citizens face unique challenges and are within their right to reject the symbols of this nation which has not fulfilled its promises. Cindy Parlow Cone’s apology is long overdue. One wonders if it would have been made absent this groundswell of reckoning that appears drenched in performative gestures. Let’s see how long this spirit of sincere dedication to justice lasts.
Article below by Reuters at the18.com.
A day after the U.S. Soccer announced that it had overturned its ban on protests during the national anthem, federation president Cindy Parlow Cone apologized to women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe for the policy being instituted originally.
Read the rest here.
