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Former U.S. girls’s nationwide crew goalkeeper Hope Solo gained consideration, once more, when she declared on a podcast interview she had noticed star ahead Megan Rapinoe “virtually bullying” her teammates into kneeling whereas the nationwide anthem was performed previous to video games.
That is what Solo stated throughout a podcast interview with Objective.com on its “All of Us” program:
“I’ve seen Megan Rapinoe virtually bully gamers into kneeling as a result of she actually needs to face up for one thing in her explicit manner. Nevertheless it’s our proper as Individuals to do it no matter manner we’re comfy with and I feel that’s actually onerous being on the primary stage proper now with so many political points for athletes. There’s a number of stress and finally on the finish of the day our primary focus ought to and has at all times been to win first.”
MORE: Not the primary time that Solo has been essential of Rapinoe
That “bullying” remark was seized upon Monday by Rapinoe’s many critics from the far proper, and it additionally was picked up by mainstream media retailers similar to Newsweek. Solo spoke with the air of nice authority on the idea of Rapinoe because the “virtually bully” and claimed to have been an eyewitness to such conduct.
All of which begs the query: When and the way, then, did Solo observe Rapinoe “virtually bullying” her teammates into kneeling for the anthem?
On Aug. 24, 2016, after america had fallen to Sweden within the quarterfinals on the Rio Olympics and goalkeeper Hope Solo had responded to that end result by publicly describing the successful crew as “a bunch of cowards”, she was suspended for six months by U.S. Soccer and had her contract with the ladies’s nationwide crew terminated.
Three days later, the Seattle Reign introduced Solo had chosen to take private depart from the NWSL crew. She by no means performed one other recreation for the Reign or the USWNT.
So when the Reign ready for a Sept. 4 league recreation in opposition to the Chicago Purple Stars and Seattle ahead Megan Rapinoe selected to kneel in the course of the nationwide anthem in solidarity with quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest, it was Haley Kopmeyer in aim for the Reign, not Solo.
And when Rapinoe repeated that protest lower than two weeks later, previous to a USWNT exhibition recreation in Columbus on Sept. 15, it was Ashlyn Harris in aim, not Solo. Six months later, U.S. Soccer launched a coverage declaring its athletes ought to “stand respectfully” throughout pregame anthem ceremonies.
Rapinoe and Solo have been teammates for a very long time, however by no means after Kaepernick started his protests in the course of the ceremonial taking part in of the Star-Spangled Banner. And definitely not by 2021, after U.S. Soccer withdrew that coverage and a number of other gamers took a knee previous to a few exhibitions in January.
So it appears a stretch that Solo was in place as soon as the protests turned a problem to see any greater than anybody else who was not ever — or was now not — concerned within the crew.
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