U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe never got a chance to kneel during the national anthem Wednesday at Maryland SoccerPlex.
In a preemptive move, the owner of the Washington Spirit, an Air Force veteran, decided to play the “Star-Spangled Banner” while the teams were in the locker room.
The Spirit took the action, the club said, “rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent.”
Typically, the anthem is played after the players have returned to the field and the starters are announced. In this case, as is standard, they warmed up for 25 minutes after a lightning delay and then returned to the locker room.