When the United States Women’s National Team opened its play in the 2023 FIFA World Cup during a match against Vietnam last week, the players made headlines when the majority of the team chose not to single the national anthem before the match. And despite the backlash they received, those players stood silent once again on Wednesday night.
As Yahoo Sports points out, the majority of the players in the starting lineup for Wednesday night’s match against the Netherlands refused to sing the national anthem or place their hands over their hearts as The Star Spangled Banner played before the game.
“Six players, including Andi Sullivan, Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox, Trinity Rodman and Crystal Dunn, had chosen not to sing the anthem in the opening game against Vietnam and refused to do so again against the Dutch,” Yahoo Sports wrote.
But some players did choose to sing the national anthem, as Yahoo Sports points out.
“Others, including captain Lindsey Horan, striker Alex Morgan and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher did belt out the words to the Star Spangled Banner with their hands across their hearts,” Yahoo Sports wrote.
This is not the first time these players have chosen to remain silent during the national anthem. Back in 2020, several players chose not to sing the national anthem due to racial inequalities and injustice in the country. Star player Megan Rapinoe even suggested that she might not ever sing the song again.
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