Washington Spirit players have taken issue with their owner’s decision to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” while the teams were in the locker room Wednesday, a move that thwarted Seattle star Megan Rapinoe’s plan to kneel during the anthem.
In a statement posted on the team’s website Friday, the players said: “We respect our owner’s freedom to share his views and we understand his intentions. But as a team we don’t necessarily agree with those opinions or the actions taken on Wednesday evening.
“We believe in freedom of speech and expression as long as it’s respectfully demonstrated, even when we don’t agree on every issue.