The Thailand national anthem is being played and USWNT players can be seen on the field and the sidelines standing at attention out of respect for their competitors and the country as a whole. Minutes later, the Star Spangled Banner is sung by a Sargent in the U.S. Air Force. Players continue to stand, most with their hands over their hearts, with one notable exception. Megan Rapinoe took a knee for the second time, but this time she was representing her country at the national level.

A few players in the National Football League have been taking a knee during the national anthem in a protest claimed to be for the inequalities and lack of justice in the African American community. This has sparked a large and lengthy debate with seemingly everyone having an opinion on the topic. It seems to be split between those that like it, those that don’t, and those that like it but believe it’s the wrong platform to use.

It is not required that one stands for the national anthem and gratefully American’s have many freedom’s that enable them to express themselves. However, when you do so in a way that disrespects your country and the men and women who lost their lives providing you that freedom it is generally frowned upon.

Flags are flown at half staff when a soldier has passed or during times of loss and unfortunate anniversaries such as 9/11. It is seen as disrespectful to many if one desecrates a flag or does anything but stand at attention during the national anthem. Could you see Martin Luther King kneeling or desecrating the American flag? Abraham Lincoln? I couldn’t, and these were much more influential activists than any current athlete ever will be.

This act completely disrespects our armed forces and what those individuals have given up to protect the citizens of the United States. Buzz Williams, the Virginia Tech head coach brought veterans onto the court to teach players to honor the anthem a few months ago. Veteran Nate Boyer, a former Army Green Baret and Seattle Seahawks long-snapper met with Colin Kaepernick and although defended his protest and what he is trying to accomplish still encouraged him to stand for the anthem.

The first time Rapinoe knelt during the anthem was at an NWSL match. In the following match, the club traveled to Washington D.C. to play the Spirit and the club played the anthem while players were still in the locker room to stop Rapinoe from kneeling as reported by ESPNW.

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Next, the act of kneeling during the anthem completely derails the conversation from where it needs to be. The talk going into the USWNT match was “What will Rapinoe do. Will she kneel?” The conversation should be, what will people do to actively stop the social injustices happening in the country. It shouldn’t be on who is kneeling and who isn’t. Along with this, it was Heather O’Reilly’s last match for the USWNT after a 15 year national team career. A great player with 47 international goals to go along with three Olympic golds and a World Cup Championship. What are we discussing though? That Megan Rapinoe knelt again.

USWNT head coach Jill Ellis stated that she hoped and expected Rapinoe to stand for the anthem during a national team game and also said she’d have a “chat” with the midfielder at a later date if she didn’t. Ellis mentioned that its a team environment and added:

I totally understand where Megan is, in terms of her willingness to talk about hard social issues. I respect that. I support that. Those conversations should be had. Me personally, in this environment for a national team, I don’t disassociate playing for your country. I think that’s a part of a national symbol. So in terms of standing for a national anthem, I think that’s an expectation of a national team player.

Rapinoe herself in an interview with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap said that not as many meaningful or productive conversations have started for what she’s trying to talk about. Perhaps this is again because of the wrong platform athletes are using to protest.

There are other ways to protest. One analyst on Sports Nation said players could wear black armbands during matches and when fined by the league ask the league to donate that money to an organization trying to provide equality to the African American community. I believe a protest such as this would be more effective as it’s actually starting an effective action while also being respectful to all parties involved.

The injustices need to stop, I think we can all agree to that. However, there has to be a better way to go about ending it that doesn’t include disrespectful actions to the flag. If U.S. Soccer was willing to suspend Hope Solo for calling the Sweden players “cowards” after their Olympic loss, then surely Rapinoe should get a suspension just as long if not longer. To stand and respect another countries national anthem but not your own is distasteful. You should be respecting both. To represent the United States of America and collect a paycheck for winning a match even though you’re sitting on the bench but disrespect its flag is just as bad.