U.S. Soccer Could End Its 'No Kneeling During National Anthem' Policy

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) will meet this week to discuss ending its policy against players kneeling during the national anthem.

A USSF spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek on Monday that the federation's board of directors will meet Tuesday to discuss the policy, which was first reported by ESPN. The meeting was called at the urging of USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, the organization's first female president and a former player who was part of the team that won the 1999 Women's World Cup. Cone is expected to recommend that the policy be ended.

The reconsideration comes amid widespread protests against police brutality and racial injustice that have continued to take place after the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Many of the protests have seen demonstrators, sometimes joined by police officers, "taking a knee" in tribute to Floyd.

The USSF policy was enacted after women's national team star Megan Rapinoe began a series of kneeling protests while playing for the national team, starting with a 2016 match against Thailand. The protests were done in support of earlier protests at NFL games against police violence affecting black people, which started with former quarterback Colin Kaepernick when he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

Rapinoe's actions in support of Kaepernick led to the USSF board overwhelmingly approving a policy in 2017 which states "all persons representing a Federation national team shall stand respectfully during the playing of national anthems at any event in which the Federation is represented."

The board could vote on the proposal to end the policy either during Tuesday's special meeting, which will be conducted over the phone, or during a quarterly meeting set for Friday. Any repeal of the policy would take effect immediately but need to be voted on at the board's annual meeting early next year before being permanently adopted.

Kaepernick inspired controversy by sitting while the national anthem was played before 2016 NFL preseason games, saying he was "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." He later said he altered his protests to kneel during the anthem out of respect for those who have served in the military.

Kaepernick's playing career stalled after the protests, which were eventually banned by the NFL. On Friday, the league publicly expressed regret for their actions in a Twitter post admitting "we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest."