The soccer community attacked Alexi Lalas quickly.
After players in the National Women’s Soccer League collectively took a knee during the national anthem Saturday in protest against racial injustice in the United States, Lalas, the former U.S. men’s national team and New England Revolution defender turned FOX Sports analyst tweeted:
“Now it takes courage to actually stand for the national anthem” followed by emojis or an American flag and a soccer ball.
Lalas deleted the initial tweet which sparked considerable backlash, but not before many people had take screen shots, and posted the following:
“Today I watched an American professional soccer game in which all the players on the field took a knee during the US anthem. It was an organized, unified and peaceful protest by a league and a group of players who are sending an important message about the changing times in our society. I wholeheartedly support the NWSL and it’s players bringing attention to the problems of police brutality and systemic racism that exist. I regret that my earlier tweet distracted from the historic and powerful actions on the field. So I have deleted it. I’m sorry for any hurt or anger it caused.”
Lalas has a history of being anti-protestor.
In 2017 he criticized anyone who didn’t stand.
“Damn right, I’m going to stand, I’m going to put my hand over my heart and I am going to sing,” Lalas said in a Goal.com interview. “And I believe that all U.S. national team players should be required to do that because just because we live in the land of the free, doesn’t mean we are free to do anything that we want.”
The current iteration of protesting during the anthem originated with Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 NFL season. In an attempt to draw attention to police violence against Black Americans, Kaepernick, the the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers began taking a knee during the “Star Spangled Banner” to raise awareness of the issues. The act made him a flashpoint for debate as many Republicans, including then-presidential candidate Donald Trump accused him of being anti-American and unpatriotic.
Kaepernick has found a growing number of people in support of his cause following the killing of George Floyd last month in Minnesota. Many athletes have pledged to follow his one-knee protest. In the NWSL, the players were also in solidarity with Megan Rapinoe, who was the first white athlete to take a knee to support Kaepernick.
Lalas received considerable backlash for the initial tweet.
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