The support for Colin Kaepernick is growing, even outside his own sport.
The 49ers backup quarterback created a stir by first sitting, then kneeling through the national anthem as his way of protesting racial discrimination and police brutality.
Sunday night, soccer star Megan Rapinoe joined the cause.
Via the Associated Press, Rapinoe took a knee during last night’s Seattle Reign-Chicago Red Stars in an NWSL game. After the game, she said the decision was “a nod to Kaepernick.”
“I am disgusted with the way he has been treated and the fans and hatred he has received in all of this,” Rapinoe told espnW’s Julie Foudy. “It is overtly racist. ‘Stay in your place, black man.’ Just didn’t feel right to me. We need a more substantive conversation around race relations and the way people of color are treated. . . .
“We are not saying we are not one the greatest countries in world. Just need to accept that [it is] not perfect, things are broken. And quite honestly, being gay, I have stood with my hand over my heart during the national anthem and felt like I haven’t had my liberties protected, so I can absolutely sympathize with that feeling.”
Rapinoe, who has won a gold medal and a World Cup as a member of the U.S. women’s national team, said she would continue to kneel in every match going forward.
She has her own fights as well, as she’s one of five women’s team players on a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission arguing pay inequality in relation to the men’s team.
