uswnt kneeling
Defender Kelley O'Hara and midfielder Julie Ertz were the sole USWNT starters who stood, and superstar Alex Morgan kneeled from the sideline.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Pool via AP
  • The US Women’s National Team kicked off its first game in 261 days vs the Netherlands Friday.
  • Nine of the team’s 11 starting players kneeled during the playing of the American national anthem prior to the game.
  • Defender Kelley O’Hara and midfielder Julie Ertz were the sole starters who stood, and superstar Alex Morgan kneeled from the sideline.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The US Women’s National Team has committed itself to the notion that “Black Lives Matter.”

And now, ahead of the team’s first match in 261 days, most of the national team players are backing that up in a major way.

Nine out the team’s 11 starting players kneeled during the playing of the American national anthem ahead of their game against the Netherlands Friday. Defender Kelley O’Hara and midfielder Julie Ertz were the sole starters who stood.

Superstar Alex Morgan kneeled on the sideline along with some of her teammates and team staffers.

 

ESPN did not show footage of USWNT players kneeling, but TUDN did.

Notably, the two starters who stood Friday have mixed histories in their responses to the anthem this year.

Ertz famously kneeled alongside Chicago Red Stars teammate Casey Short back in June, but O'Hara received some criticism for being one of the only Utah Royals FC players to stand during the NWSL Challenge Cup.

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Kelley O'Hara stands alongside her kneeling Utah Royals FC teammates.
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

The US Soccer Federation recently lifted its requirement that national team players refrain from protesting in any way during the "Star Spangled Banner."

Shortly after USWNT striker Megan Rapinoe became one of the first professional athletes to kneel during the national anthem alongside Colin Kaepernick in protest of police brutality and racial injustice in America, the federation instituted its policy banning such demonstrations.

Some four years later, US Soccer apologized to Rapinoe for the way it handled her demonstrations.

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Megan Rapinoe (right) kneels during the anthem back in 2016.
AP Photo/John Bazemore

Prior to the game, the 23 players who made the trip overseas for the USWNT's game wore "Black Lives Matter" warm-up jackets ahead of their highly-anticipated matchup against the Netherlands.

In a video released by the team, players explained that the decision to wear the words "Black Lives Matter" across their chests "is not political." Rather, they intend to make "a statement on human rights."

"As a team, we work towards a society where the American ideals are upheld and Black lives are no longer systemically targeted," players said in the video. "We collectively acknowledge injustice, as that is the first step in working towards correcting it."

Read the original article on Insider