US football federation scraps ban on anthem-kneeling

In June, US football's board of directors voted to repeal the no-kneeling policy, which was put in place after Megan Rapinoe kneeled in 2016. That board vote required confirmation by the wider US Soccer governing body, which it received this week.

Wearing shirts that read 'We Stand on Guard For All', the Canada women's team kneels for their national anthem before the start of a She Believes Cup soccer match against Brazil at Exploria Stadium in February  24, 202 in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Reuters

Wearing shirts that read 'We Stand on Guard For All', the Canada women's team kneels for their national anthem before the start of a She Believes Cup soccer match against Brazil at Exploria Stadium in February 24, 202 in Orlando, Florida, USA.

United States football federation has voted to end a ban on players kneeling during the national anthem, something they have done to protest racial inequality and police brutality.

More than 70 percent of the members of US football's ruling body voted to scrap the policy requiring players to "stand respectfully" during the song. About 30 percent voted to keep the policy in place.

"We know that this is a very divisive issue within our country and throughout the world," US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone told reporters.

"So I was not surprised that our membership was not 100% one way or the other.

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'Systemic racism'

The US women's national team stood as a group during the anthem prior to their SheBelieves Cup game on February 21 after some knelt in the tournament opener in February18.

Team members said they were past the protesting phase of the anthem debate but still committed to fighting to end systemic racism.

National Football League player Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice. Other players joined him until team owners banned the practice. That policy was reversed in 2020 during a wave of national protests over racism and police brutality after the death of George Floyd in May.

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In June, US soccer's board of directors voted to repeal the no-kneeling policy, which was put in place after Megan Rapinoe kneeled in 2016.

That board vote required confirmation by the wider US Soccer governing body, which it received on Saturday.

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