US Soccer to consider repealing ban on players kneeling for anthem

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Megan Rapinoe kneels during the national anthem prior to a match in 2016.
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The U.S. Soccer Federation will consider doing away with its policy requiring national team players to stand for the national anthem, according to ESPN.

The federation’s board of directors will meet on Tuesday — at the behest of its president Cindy Parlow Cone — to discuss the policy and likely bring it to a vote Friday. A repeal of the rule would take effect immediately, but would still need to pass a vote from the National Council at the next general meeting scheduled for February or March of 2021 to fully stick.

The rule adopted in 2017, which states that national team representatives “shall stand respectfully during the playing of national anthems at any event in which the Federation is represented,” was passed in response to women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe kneeling during the anthem before a game in 2016. She did so to show solidarity with then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a way to protest social injustice. Rapinoe has complied with the rule since it was adopted.

The evaluation of the policy comes as protests continue throughout the country after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis on May 25. Numerous protestors and some police members have kneeled to remember and honor Floyd.