Hope Solo Says Megan Rapinoe Would 'almost Bully' Players To Kneel During Anthem

Hope Solo claims that Megan Rapinoe would "nearly bully" individuals of the U.S. Women's National Team into kneeling to sign up for in her protests of racial injustice.

Solo, talking on GOAL's podcast "All of US: The U.S. Women's Soccer Show," stated that Rapinoe attempted to get different gamers at the crew to kneel "due to the fact she truly desires to rise up for something in her specific manner." Solo turned into suspended from the USWNT in August 2016 and Rapinoe did now no longer start kneeling till September 2016 in harmony with 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who first commenced taking a knee to protest racial injustice and police brutality in August 2016 after Solo's suspension. Solo did now no longer go back to the crew.

"It’s our proper as Americans to do it something manner we’re snug with and I suppose that’s truly tough being on the primary degree proper now with such a lot of political problems for athletes," Solo stated at the podcast. "There’s numerous stress and in the end on the give up of the day our primary consciousness need to and has constantly been to win first.”

Rapinoe and numerous individuals of the USWNT have come to be outspoken on numerous subjects during the last numerous years, starting from the same pay in sports activities to racial inequality and LGBTQ+ rights. The protests have made the crew a supply of controversy at times. Back in 2016, Rapinoe turned into the first — and on the time, only — participant at the crew to kneel, and soon thereafter, U.S. football dominated that gamers needed to stand for the anthem. Rapinoe's teammate, Crystal Dunn, stated that she turned into terrified of dropping her spot at the roster if she kneeled and stated that she turned into "packed with a lot of joy" for Rapinoe's choice to protest.

The coverage requiring gamers to face turned into at the start repealed in June 2020 and turned into formally voted out in February 2021, CNN said. The New York Post said that there were no times wherein gamers were negatively tormented by figuring out now no longer to kneel throughout the countrywide anthem, and delivered that the crew has been status for the anthem due to the fact February.

Solo has now no longer been a member of the USWNT due to the fact of 2016. After the crew's quarterfinals loss to Sweden withinside the 2016 Rio Olympics, Solo known as the Swedish National Team "a group of cowards" due to a shielding fashion to maintain off America till penalty kicks. She had additionally been formally charged with assaulting her own circle of relatives individuals in 2014, eleven though the expenses had been in the end dismissed. She turned into additionally suspended via way of means of the USWNT in 2015 after she borrowed a crew van and turned into arrested on a rate of riding beneath neath the influence.

This is the brand new incident in which Solo has criticized Rapinoe. Earlier in 2021, Solo informed beIN Sports that Rapinoe and different leaders of the USWNT signed a collective bargaining settlement that turned into a step lower back from the development the crew has been making in receiving pay same to the men's crew.