Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest has officially begun trending in the world of sports. Last week, San Francisco 49er, Eric Reid and Jeremy Lane of the Seahawks also decided not to stand during the national anthem, sparking even more of a media firestorm. The latest athlete to participate, however, is soccer player Megan Rapinoe.
As a gay woman, the #SeattleReign midfielder told American Soccer Now that she decided to take a knee during Sunday’s game, because she identified with Kaepernick who believes that his basic rights as an American have been compromised. “Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,” Rapinoe said. “It was something small that I could do and something that I plan to keep doing in the future and hopefully spark some meaningful conversation around it.”
Rapinoe also explains that it is imperative that white people (who get it) support people of color who are fighting for justice and absolute equality. “It’s important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this. We don’t need to be the leading voice, of course, but standing in support of them is something that’s really powerful.”
The reason why it’s so important for the white people who do get it to show their support is because we need them to explain, to the white people who don’t get it, that although we’re all created equally, we aren’t treated that way. The reactions stemming from Gabby Douglas to Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid have been perfect examples of that, but somehow, the message is being misconstrued. Hopefully Megan Rapinoe will hit some people across the head like they could have had a V8!
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Source: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2016/09/05/sport/megan-rapinoe-colin-kaepernick-anthem-kneel/index.html
