Face of Nation : PARIS — Megan Rapinoe converted two penalty kicks against Spain, the second of which kept the U.S. women’s hopes of winning the World Cup title alive.
Yet the chatter about her Tuesday morning focused around what she does during the national anthem – or, more specifically, what she doesn’t do – the latest attempt by one media outlet to create controversy where there is, literally, none. If you want to talk about fake news, this narrative being pushed by The Hill since the World Cup began definitely qualifies.
Rapinoe not singing or putting her hand over her heart during the The Star-Spangled Banner is not a new development at the World Cup. Nor is it unique to when she plays for the U.S. women. She has been peacefully protesting before all games for the better part of three years now.
Besides, watch athletes in any sport during the national anthem and you’ll see they act in a multitude of ways. Some do sing. Some do put their hands on their hearts.
But plenty of others don’t. Some sway. Some bow their heads. Some put their hands behind their back. Some look at the anthem singer rather than the flag.
And none of it has any relevance to … anything. Or have we sunk to such levels of stupidity and irresponsibility in this country that a “news” organization will disparage an athlete who has helped bring the United States success at the highest levels in hopes of generating clicks.
If so, will The Hill go after Tom Brady next? After all, he wasn’t seen singing in a video of the national anthem at the Super Bowl in January. How about pretty much every member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, who didn’t join James Taylor in his rendition of the anthem before Game 1 of the World Series?
See how absurd this is?
Rapinoe is unapologetic in her views. She was one of, if not the first, white athletes to kneel in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and the other NFL players who were protesting police brutality against people of color and the other forms of discrimination that plague our society.
She no longer kneels – U.S. Soccer instituted a rule requiring that players stand for the anthem – but has said she will continue to protest by standing silently.
“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 in an interview with Yahoo Sports last month.
Which is her right. Peaceful protest is a bedrock of our society and Rapinoe is doing nothing that detracts from her teammates or anyone else.
She is also a lesbian, and Trump and his administration have actively pursued or enacted policies that discriminate against the LGBTQ community. To say nothing of all the other things Trump has done that have undermined the Constitution and violated the standards of common decency.
Yet The Hill has chosen to demonize Rapinoe in an appeal to the basest people in this country.
In its initial story, published June 12, it characterized her actions during the national anthem as an “act.” It then asked Trump for his reaction Monday, and it was as predictable as it was laughable.
That didn’t stop The Hill from trumpeting its “exclusive,” however. Over and over and over again. At least five times in five hours, including twice in a 12-minute span, on Twitter. The gambit worked, with several outlets — USA TODAY Sports included — picking it up.
There are certainly discussions that still need to be had on athlete protests and, more specifically, the reasons behind them. But The Hill isn’t interested in that, preferring instead to generate clicks at Rapinoe’s expense.
Now that is inappropriate.
