The United States Women's National Team is no stranger to controversy over their politics, but when it comes to the national anthem at this year's Women's World Cup, they are not taking questions.
The team drew some ire when the majority of them did not sing during "The Star-Spangled Banner," ahead of the first match against Vietnam. Controversies have sprung up when players haven't stood during the anthem in the past, while the most recent example of note of players not singing the anthem was when Iranian players abstained from singing during the men's 2022 World Cup amid protests in their home country.
The USWNT, however, is not entertaining criticism about not singing. Three players did lip-sync along, but the rest of the players stood and did not sing.
Defender Naomi Girma dismissed questions about the USWNT's abstinence from singing.
“I think when we’re out there, we’re preparing for the game. And that isn’t the focus,” Girma said, per Just Women's Sports. “Ultimately, every player has the choice. I think that’s what I would say.”
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 22, 2023
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS AT THE 2023 FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP FOR THE FIRST TIME 🙌 pic.twitter.com/czqIXr5zBT
It appears to be a page taken from USWNT stalwart Megan Rapinoe, who said ahead of the 2019 World Cup that she was likely done singing the national anthem.
"I'll probably never put my hand over my heart," Rapinoe said at the time. "I'll probably never sing the national anthem again."
USWNT national anthem protest history
After Rapinoe protested the national anthem in 2016, U.S. Soccer quickly tried to curb similar such protests in the future.
It took only 10 days for U.S. Soccer to release a statement that said, in no uncertain terms, players are expected to stand during the playing of the national anthem. The statement said, in part: "As part of the privilege to represent your country, we have an expectation that our players and coaches will stand and honor our flag while the national anthem is played."
It was then made official in 2017, when a policy was implemented that required athletes to stand during the anthem.
That policy was repealed by U.S. Soccer in 2020 as Black Lives Matter protests raged in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.
"It should be, and will be going forward, up to our players to determine how they can best use their platforms to fight all forms of racism, discrimination, and inequality," U.S. Soccer said as part of its statement. "We are here for our players and are ready to support them in elevating their efforts to achieve social justice. We cannot change the past, but we can make a difference in the future. We are committed to this change effort, and we will be implementing supporting actions in the near future."
There is no longer a U.S. Soccer policy mandating conduct during the national anthem. Both the U.S. women's and men's national teams' players are free to do as they please in 2023.
Megan Rapinoe protest history
One of the first athletes to join Kaepernick's cause, Rapinoe has said in no uncertain terms she will not be singing the national anthem.
Rapinoe took a knee in 2016 days after Kaepernick sparked the flames of protest, which led to retaliatory actions by U.S. Soccer, including a statement saying athletes should stand and a policy months later.
Rapinoe called the institution of the policy "pretty cowardly" and said it failed to open any real dialogue.
"We can actually have a conversation, instead of just telling me that it's a privilege to pull on the jersey," she said, per Yahoo Sports. "Like, of course it's a privilege for me to pull on the jersey. Part of that privilege is representing America, and representing America is representing all of America. So I feel like there was a major miss on that part, which is unfortunate."
Ever since the implementation of the policy, Rapinoe stands, but she does not hold her hand over heart or sing along, something that has seemingly been adopted by other members of the USWNT starting 11.
During a 2020 interview with NPR's "Fresh Air," Rapinoe reflected on the 2017 kneeling controversy and U.S. Soccer instituting the policy in response.
"I couldn't believe it. I think I was truly sort of dumbstruck. It really upset me," she told hosts Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley. "The nerve and the audacity to say what they did in that statement — 'it is an honor and a privilege that we all have in this country' — I don't think so. I don't think we do all have that in this country. So it missed the entire point, clearly. And it was just cruel in a way. It was gaslighting, and it was manipulative, and it was cruel. But it also was very, I thought, very intentionally meant to silence me."
Rapinoe added that she did not regret kneeling.
"No. No, no. Definitely not," she said. "I mean, I think, honestly, the only thing that I regret, maybe, was, when I came back, that I didn't keep kneeling. That's something that I feel like I still struggle with. You know, I didn't want to lose my job. You know, I didn't want to not have a platform to talk on. I didn't want to not, you know, keep playing for the national team."
MORE: Women's World Cup 2023 Group A: Updated table and results
Iran 2022 national anthem protest
Another notable abstention from singing the national anthem came during the men's 2022 World Cup, when Iran did not sing along as protests raged at home following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the country's morality police.
The Iran National Anthem plays for the first time at the 2022 FIFA World Cup 🇮🇷 pic.twitter.com/R5HAsuw5FQ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 21, 2022
Other national anthem protests
1968: Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the Olympics
One of the most iconic photos in American sports, Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood on the podium after winning gold and bronze, respectively, and raised black-gloved fists in a human rights salute.
The pair were booed off the podium after the national anthem finished, but their legacy endures in the photograph and its history. "If I win, I am American, not a black American," Smith said of the protest, via BBC. "But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are Black and we are proud of being Black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."
1996: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf played nine NBA seasons for the Nuggets, Kings, and Grizzlies.
The guard drew criticism himself when he took a knee during the national anthem in 1996, which led to a suspension. Abdul-Rauf compromised with the NBA, standing during the anthem but remaining silent.
"My intentions were not in any way to be disrespectful to those who regard the national anthem as a sacred ceremony," Abdul-Rauf said of his protest back in 1996, per The New York Times. "I am an African-American, a citizen of this country and one who respects freedom of speech and freedom of expression."
Abdul-Rauf also called the flag a "symbol of oppression, of tyranny" during a shoot-around. Though Abdul-Rauf had been protesting in this manner for some time, it became a major controversy once local networks picked it up and the story spread.
MORE: Colin Kaepernick kneeling timeline
2016: Colin Kaepernick
This brings us into the era of contemporary protest.
Similar to Abdul-Rauf, few took notice of Kaepernick's first silent protest, in which he sat down rather than kneeling. It was during a preseason game he wasn't dressed for, and he did it again the next week to little fanfare.
It wasn't until the third preseason game Kaepernick was asked about and subsequently addressed the protest.
"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color," he said, per The Washington Post. "To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick then moved to taking a knee, and his teammate Eric Reid joined him.
What followed was a firestorm. Several other teams followed suit, while then-President Donald Trump called for players who protested to be fired. Kaepernick has not played since the 2016 season, with many speculating he was blackballed by NFL ownership for his protest.
2016: Megan Rapinoe
One of the first athletes to follow Kaepernick's lead was Megan Rapinoe, who took a knee ahead of match between the Seattle Reign and Chicago Red Stars.
"It was a little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now," Rapinoe said after the match. "I think it’s actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated, and the way that a lot of the media has covered it and made it about something that it absolutely isn’t. We need to have a more thoughtful, two-sided conversation about racial issues in this country."
While the USWNT doesn't seem interested in addressing the controversy this time around -- at least while the tournament is still raging on -- it's clearly at the forefront of their minds. Whether or not Rapinoe is the catalyst, don't expect things to change for the starting 11 moving forward in group play.
