Members of the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage kneeled during the playing of the national anthem before Saturday's game during the NWSL Challenge Cup.
Both teams' starting lineups, as well as the bench players on the sidelines, kneeled as the anthem was being performed by a saxophone player live in the stadium. Players also sported Black Lives Matter shirts ahead of the game.
The teams' choice to kneel comes after U.S. Soccer's Board of Directors voted this month to repeal a policy that required players to stand during the national anthem. The policy was originally put in place after Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem before a 2016 NWSL game.