Hope Solo: Megan Rapinoe Would ‘Almost Bully’ Teammates into Kneeling for National Anthem

Former U.S. women’s soccer star Hope Solo has claimed that her former teammate and leftwing activist Megan Rapinoe would “almost bully players” into kneeling during the national anthem.

Kneeling during the national anthem, a movement kickstarted by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick in 2016 to protest “organized brutality,” has become popular among those on the left and those who support the Black Lives Matter movement.

During an interview with Goal on its All of Us: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Show, Solo said she believes “the rhetoric surrounding this team has been both divisive and inclusive,” adding that “it’s kind of where we are in politics in this day and age.”

“Right now, what I’ve seen is there’s been so much debate about the kneeling, about the not kneeling,” Solo said. “I know most people stand against discrimination. And I live in the south. I live in a very conservative area here in North Carolina in the south.”

While she has “friends on both sides of the aisle,” Solo said she believes that kneeling during the playing of the national anthem “can be very divisive.” – READ MORE