-By Warner Todd Huston
Megan Rapinoe, the co-captain of the U.S Women’s Soccer team, refused to put her hand over her heart and sing the “Star Spangled Banner” ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup game going on in France.
Rapinoe’s snub to America came only six days after the world commemorated the great World War Two battle of D-Day where hundreds of Americans died to liberate France.
Rapinioe stood silent with her arms behind her back as the rest of the U.S. team placed their hands over their hearts and sang the American national anthem ahead of Tuesday’s game in Reims, France.
The 33-year-old U.S. star kept a stony demeanor as the rest of her team sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” in the Auguste-Delaune Stadium.
Rapinoe’s disgust with America is well known and the player had already warned that she would “never sing the anthem again.”
“I’ll probably never put my hand over my heart. I’ll probably never sing the national anthem again,” Rapinoe said in May adding she views herself as “a walking protest when it comes to the Trump administration,” because of “everything I stand for.”
“I feel like it’s kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey, and represent it,” Rapinoe said. “Because I’m as talented as I am, I get to be here, you don’t get to tell me if I can be here or not. So, it’s kind of a good ‘F you’ to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don’t look exactly like him. Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary. Ahh, disturbing.”
Rapinoe had taken to kneeling during the national anthem until the U.S. team ruled that all players must stand for the anthem.
But Rapinoe came under a wave of criticism from fans disgusted with her lack of gratitude and patriotism on foreign soil.
I’d say it’s time to boycott women’s soccer, but let’s keep it real…no one’s watching that anyway. 🤣https://t.co/8GocoHOppy
— Mindy Robinson 🇺🇸 (@iheartmindy) June 12, 2019
After we all looked back last week on the incredible sacrifices and loss of life suffered on D-Day and remembered the American heroes who made victory possible while marking the 75th Anniversary— the timing of this move seems incredibly callous.
— Kari Lake (@KariLakeFox10) June 12, 2019
So you protest a president by dishonoring yourself and the entire nation? Statists hate America: Megan Rapinoe: My national anthem protests are an 'F you' to Trump administration https://t.co/RB6rIDOulR
— Chris Loesch (@ChrisLoesch) June 12, 2019
well I support the right of a person to not put their hand on their heart for the National Anthem, but I dont have to like it. Sad that the #WNST Entire team had their hand on their heart but 1 player….#Rapinoe Looks bad. She should not be the captain.
— FNIOutdoorsGameCalls (@INTurkeyHunter) June 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/ooneal01/status/1138516194670141441
https://twitter.com/oldleatherwing/status/1138520760593469441
The U.S. women went on Tuesday to win the biggest blow-out in World Cup history by beating Thailand 12-0.