The United States Women’s National Team opened its 2023 FIFA World Cup run with a match against Vietnam on Friday night. The team won relatively easily, notching a 3-0 victory, but it was what happened before the match that created headlines.
During the pre-match ceremony leading up to the showdown with Vietnam, the United States national anthem The Star Spangled Banner played over the stadium speakers. But the majority of the players on the team did not sing or put their hands over their hearts for the playing of the song.
According to a report from News Week, the majority of the players stayed silent with their fists behind their back during the song. Only five players placed their hands over their hearts as they stood for the national anthem and only three players of the team’s starting 11 players sang along to the national anthem.
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THE NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS AT THE 2023 FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP FOR THE FIRST TIME 🙌 pic.twitter.com/czqIXr5zBT
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 22, 2023
This is not necessarily a new move from the team, either.
The players’ silence during the national anthem dates back to the 2019 World Cup when many players chose not to sing during its playing. Women’s soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe went as far as to tell Yahoo! Sports that she was probably never going to sing the national anthem again.
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