At half-time, a military swearing-in ceremony took place on the field at a Portland Thorns vs. North Carolina Courage women’s soccer match.
However, the ceremony was not greeted with cheers or respect for the soldiers serving our nation.
Instead, the crowd erupted in “boos” as soon as the “president of the United States” was mentioned.
Just another day in Portland.
Watch the clip of this rude moment dis-honoring to our military for yourself:
The Oregonian had the following to say about what prompted the "boos" from the sports crowd during the military ceremony:
A United States Armed Forces swearing-in ceremony at Wednesday’s game between the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage drew boos from fans at Providence Park after enlistees were asked to pledge to obey the orders of President Donald Trump.
The Thorns scheduled the ceremony ahead of the 2019 season when they found out that they would be playing on the anniversary of 9/11.
A group of enlistees came onto the field at halftime Wednesday to take the Oath of Enlistment in front of the crowd of 17,517 at Providence Park. Similar ceremonies have taken place at sporting events across the country for years, and several MLS teams have hosted similar events this season in conjunction with military appreciation nights.
The crowd applauded the enlistees after they completed their Oath of Enlistment, but boos filled the stadium when the enlistees were asked to pledge that they would “obey the orders of the President of the United States."
The full oath that the enlistees recited is: “I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
The ceremony came against the backdrop of Major League Soccer facing backlash from fans for changing its Fan Code of Conduct to ban political signage and displays at games. Though the National Women’s Soccer League does not have a fan code of conduct, the Timbers and Thorns organization has enforced the MLS ban on political signage at Thorns games this season as well.
The Hill also commented:
Fans at a Portland Thorns soccer game this week appeared to boo President Trump as Armed Forces enlistees pledged to obey his orders as part of a swearing-in ceremony that took place during halftime.
The Oregonian newspaper first reported on the crowd's reaction, sharing video from Wednesday's game in which fans could be heard groaning and booing as enlistees were asked to “obey the orders of the President of the United States.”
The National Women's Soccer League game was scheduled to include the ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to Oregon Live.
At the conclusion of the swearing-in, the crowd switched to cheering the new Armed Forces members. The boos appeared to only take place when the president was mentioned.
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