NWSL team plays U.S. anthem early to avoid Rapinoe protest

Megan Rapinoe planned to take a knee in protest during the U.S. national anthem before her Seattle Reign took on the Washington Spirit on Wednesday night. The Spirit made sure Rapinoe wouldn't.

The club issued a statement after it played "The Star-Spangled Banner" earlier than scheduled at Maryland SoccerPlex, in order to make sure Rapinoe couldn't do what she publicly said she intended to:

... we decided to play the anthem in our stadium ahead of schedule rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent.

We understand this may be seen as an extraordinary step, but believe it was the best option to avoid taking focus away from the game on such an important night for our franchise.

While we respect every individual's right to express themselves, and believe Ms. Rapinoe to be an amazing individual with a huge heart, we respectfully disagree with her method of hijacking our organization's event to draw attention to what is ultimately a personal - albeit worthy - cause.

Last week, Rapinoe knelt during the U.S. anthem in "a little nod to (San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin) Kaepernick and everything that he's standing for right now."

Kaepernick is protesting oppression against colored people and police brutality in the U.S. by not standing for the anthem, played before each game.

Rapinoe, openly gay, said she knows "what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties."

The Spirit's statement added that the anthem takes on extra significance for the organization because it is owned by veterans.

We strongly feel that there are better ways to begin a conversation about a cause than tarnishing a tradition that is so important to so many.

To willingly allow anyone to hijack this tradition that means so much to millions of Americans and so many of our owns fans for any cause would effectively be just as disrespectful as doing it ourselves. Professional athletes have incredible numbers of followers, to which we believe they have the ability to articulate a conversation with objectives and plans and begin a serious conversation directly, or through traditional media appearances, without insulting our military and our fans.