Proud Americans have had enough of the national anthem protests and apparently the US Soccer Federation has too…
Over the past year, professional athletes across the United States have decided to use their platforms to make political statements. While I see nothing wrong with expressing personal political views or beliefs on one’s own time, I think it’s incredibly counterproductive to take those views and beliefs to work. This applies more to those who are in the spotlight.
Citizens don’t attend or watch professional sporting events to participate in politics. In fact, most are happy to have their attention on something they enjoy as opposed to the volatile world of politics that has managed to creep into every corner of today’s society in some fashion. Of course, everyone remembers San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who decided to take a knee during the national anthem throughout the 2016 NFL season. For some reason, he believed that this brought the kind of attention required to social issues such as racism.
Those who protest in this manner seem to forget that there are many patriotic citizens in the United States who view this act as disrespectful. Not only that, but protesting the national anthem itself doesn’t make any sense. These athletes mainly wanted to call attention to what they felt was a huge disparity between the police and black community relationship. While I am a firm believer in freedom of speech, I am also a firm believer in remaining professional while conducting business at a place of employment. Just because athletes are not in a traditional business setting should not exempt them from following policies that many organizations should be expected to follow. For example, members of the military are prohibited from participating in protests, rallies, or otherwise expressing political opinions and beliefs while wearing the uniform. Once they have removed the uniform, they are free to express what they’d like. It’s about associating an entire organization with one specific cause or belief system.
I wasn’t aware that a member of the United States women’s soccer team was also participating in protesting the national anthem by taking a knee. Megan Rapinoe, who was left off the US roster for the upcoming year, knelt during the national anthem last year during matches against Thailand and the Netherlands. As a consequence, the team has since adopted a policy that players will now be required to stand and render respect for the national anthem and the flag it represents. Since these players are representing the United States, they are now being expected to do so in front of audiences both nationally and globally.
New Policy added to @ussoccer bylaws: Players “shall stand respectfully during playing of national anthem @ which federation is represented” pic.twitter.com/fkVtCI1iHC
— Stuart Holden (@stuholden) March 4, 2017
Policies like this one are long overdue and should be adopted by all professional sports teams. These players are paid to perform a job. Fans of all backgrounds and walks of life follow them, and most don’t care to have politics shoved down their throats. Those who specialize in certain areas should remain within the boundaries of their employment. The US Soccer Federation, which instituted this policy, said they will address any individual incidents as they occur. In any event, I still don’t understand how putting oneself on a national platform kneeling for the national anthem starts a productive conversation about social issues. It’s simply disrespectful.
Angelina Newsom is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran. She has ten years experience in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies Criminal Justice and is still active within the military community.
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