Megan Rapinoe Says Protests “Always Worth It” As U.S. Soccer Removes Kneeling Ban

In the wake of George Floyd's death, far left activists have attempted to re-politicize the kneeling scandal. 

Of course, the kneeling controversy began with Colin Kaepernick, but other athletes soon followed his lead.

UPI reports that Rapinoe has said that protests are "always worth it."

United States Women's National Team soccer star Megan Rapinoe says her peaceful protests, including kneeling before games, have always been "worth it" as the United States Soccer Federation recently repealed a rule against the practice.

Rapinoe made the comments during an appearance Wednesday on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The federation on Tuesday voted to repeal a 2017 rule that required players to stand during the national anthem before games.

Rapinoe started to kneel as the anthem played before games in 2016. Like Colin Kaepernick, she cited policy brutality and racial inequality as her motivation. Kaepernick and Rapinoe, at the time, were not joined by many athletes during the protests and their respective leagues did not offer public support for their stances.

Many league commissioners and players have recently raised their voices as protests have swept the United States and Europe after the May 25 death of George Floyd. Floyd was killed while handcuffed and pinned to the ground by police in Minneapolis.

"Do it. It's always worth it to do it, whether people like it or not," Rapinoe said of her activism and protests. "Everybody likes it now. Everyone is like, 'wow good job.' Four years ago, they were like, 'bad job. Don't do that.'

"It's just always worth it. Use your voice in whatever way you can."

It is well documented that many of these protests began peacefully before descending into chaos.

Riots and looting spread across major cities nationwide.

As Colin Kaepernick's controversy spread, NFL ratings began to drop.

Now, President Trump has declared that he will no longer be watching the U.S. soccer team after the anthem policy was reversed.

The Guardian confirms:

Donald Trump says he will no longer watch the US national soccer teams after a 2017 policy requiring players to stand during the anthem was repealed.

On Saturday, the president responded on Twitter to criticism from Florida Republican Matt Gaetz about the new anthem policy. “I won’t be watching much anymore!” wrote Trump.

On Wednesday, US Soccer repealed a rule that requires all players to stand during the anthem. The policy was originally put in place after USWNT star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. US Soccer’s decision came in the wake of protests across the United States against police brutality and racism.

“We have not done enough to listen – especially to our players – to understand and acknowledge the very real and meaningful experiences of Black and other minority communities in our country. We apologize to our players – especially our Black players – staff, fans, and all who support eradicating racism,” US Soccer said in a statement on Wednesday. “Sports are a powerful platform for good, and we have not used our platform as effectively as we should have. We can do more on these specific issues and we will.”

Trump’s statement came after he criticised the NFL for issuing an apology for not listening to its players’ concerns over racism in the United States. In the statement, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league would now “encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest”.

Supporting protesting the American flag and national anthem is a surefire way to offend over half of America.

These are unifying symbols for everyone.

Our forefathers and servicemen and servicewomen bled and died so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

The least we can do is honor the symbols that represent this great country.

Will you continue to watch soccer after these anthem policy changes?