Oh boy, isn’t this a sight for sore eyes?
When did showing respect to your nation’s flag and anthem become as complicated as advanced calculus?
This spectacle makes you want to shake your head and mutter, “Kids these days…”
When the US Women’s National Soccer team lined up for their opening match at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the national anthem played, and you’d think that would be a uniting moment, right?
Wrong.
Apparently, our stars and stripes and the melody that goes along with them seem to have lost their shine for some of the players.
Let’s paint a picture here.
Vietnam’s national anthem booms across the stadium, and every single player from that team sings out their anthem with the pride of a lioness protecting her cubs. Hands on hearts, voices united, a clear display of patriotism.
It’s a goosebumps moment, folks.
Cut to the US team, where things are a bit less… harmonious.
Out of the eleven players on the field, only five had their hands over their hearts during the Star-Spangled Banner.
That’s less than half, folks.
What’s going on here?
Julie Ertz, Alyssa Naeher, and Lindsey Horan did their part, mouthing the words to the anthem while the rest of the team stood there like they were waiting for a bus.
This isn’t a Broadway audition, ladies. You’re representing your country. Is it too much to ask to sing along or put a hand over your heart?
The majority of the US Women's National Soccer team are unpatriotic.
If these women can't respect our national anthem & our flag, they don't deserve our respect. I hope they receive a resounding defeat! Do you agree?
"Only in America today could people who are richer, more… pic.twitter.com/vO5hsR3CYV
— TJ Patriot (@TJ_Patriot1) July 25, 2023
This is just SAD!!!
Most of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team players REFUSED to sing the American national anthem.
They are not REPRESENTING our country well.pic.twitter.com/8SC1LjI3ck
— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) July 23, 2023
US Women's Soccer Team Draws Furious Response After Disgusting Display During National Anthem. pic.twitter.com/KFTE8lFQGK
— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) July 22, 2023
Megan Rapinoe and her ilk destroyed what Brandi Chastain and her team built. It's REALLY SAD the damage they've done to the US Women's Soccer Team. https://t.co/ZRq1JjBkYa
— Rob Carson Show (@RobCarson) July 25, 2023
This isn’t just about protocol or etiquette.
It’s about respect and unity.
It’s about wearing those stars and stripes with pride and honoring those who have fought and continue to fight for the freedom that allows us to play and enjoy sports.
Is it really too much to ask for a little bit of respect for the anthem, the flag, and by extension, our country?
The anthem isn’t just a song, and the flag isn’t just a piece of cloth. They’re symbols of our nation, our unity, and our shared values.
The fans aren’t asking for a Grammy-worthy performance, just a show of respect and unity.
A little bit of pride wouldn’t hurt either. After all, isn’t that what being a part of a national team is all about?
So, ladies, next time the anthem plays, maybe you can take a page out of Vietnam’s playbook. Sing it loud, sing it proud. After all, you’re not just representing a team; you’re representing a nation.
According to Fox News:
The United States women’s national team’s relationship with the national anthem has become complicated over the years. In the past, some members of the team have taken a knee as the song played prior to the kickoff of a match.
But, when the USWNT lined up on the field prior to the start of their opening 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup match against Vietnam, the majority of the team stood during the playing of “Star Spangled Banner,” although most of the players seemed to remain silent.
The entire opposing team appeared to passionately sing as Vietnam’s national anthem “Tiến Quân Ca,” or “Song of a Marching Army” was played. The players seemed to sing in unison, and all eleven athletes held their right hands over their hearts.
Six of the 11 American soccer players who stood on the field at Eden Park in New Zealand stood with the hands to their side or behind their back as the anthem played.
The remaining five players placed their hands over their hearts as the song blared throughout the stadium.
Julie Ertz, Alyssa Naeher and Lindsey Horan were seen mouthing the words to the song while the rest of the team appeared stood stoically.
Boy oh boy, you thought the drama was only on the field, huh?
Well, it’s spilling over into the media too, and it’s got a name – Megyn Kelly.
Not one to mince her words, the well-known podcaster took to her show, “The Megyn Kelly Show,” and really stirred the pot.
Can’t blame her though.
The woman’s got a point, doesn’t she?
According to Kelly, the ladies in question have got the whole feminism thing all tangled up.
Apparently, they’ve somehow come to equate empowerment with a disregard for their country.
Odd, right?
One might wonder, how does standing on the world stage and not singing your own national anthem become a symbol of women’s empowerment?
Megyn Kelly says the women on the US Soccer Team hate their country because they stood for the Nat Anthem but didn’t sing. She then says she checked the roster and saw most of the players were from “liberal bastions” CA, MA, and NJ. pic.twitter.com/cPMJSrYiVB
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 25, 2023
“Why are you even playing on the team…”@emilyjashinsky and @elianayjohnson on the U.S. women's soccer team standing silently during the national anthem.
Watch below, and download: https://t.co/F96HgI7HIWhttps://t.co/OKrufEaRTa
— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) July 24, 2023
Megyn Kelly has not held back in her criticism of the United States women’s soccer team after players participated in a "disgusting" act before the match.https://t.co/kwS0WyNZRT
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 25, 2023
The image of our national team failing to place a hand over their hearts, not even attempting a lip sync to the anthem, seemed to be too much for Kelly.
And honestly, who can blame her?
Our boys and girls in uniform didn’t fight for our freedom for this kind of display.
The New York Post has more details on Megyn Kelly’s epic takedown of the team:
Kelly chalked up the silence to a brand of feminism that fosters anti-American animus.
“I really do believe their version of what a feminist is, what it means to be an empowered woman, at least as an American woman, means you need to hate your country,” the outspoken podcaster told her audience on SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
“It means to go out on the national stage and embarrass yourself and your country by not singing the national anthem.”
Kelly added: “For several of them, not even holding their hands over their hearts when the national anthem played, that was a bridge too far.”
“They couldn’t be bothered to actually place their hand on their heart as the national anthem played, as they stood out there representing you and me and the country and our military and people who have given their lives for the country that they represent,” Kelly said.
“It was too much of an effort [for them] to place their hand over their heart, or God forbid, sing.”
Kelly blamed Megan Rapinoe, the outspoken women’s team star who has generated controversy in years past for expressing political views related to race, gender identity and other issues.
“She said she’ll never stand again for the national anthem, this [team behavior] is clearly, I think, as a result of her influence, and it’s disgusting,” Kelly said of Rapinoe, who was not among the starters for Friday’s game.
Earlier this month, Rapinoe told Time magazine that critics were inflating the phenomenon of transgender women replacing biologically born women in sports.
So, is it just me, or are the lines blurring between feminism and nationalism for our national team? Is singing the anthem now a statement against women’s rights?
The whole idea seems a tad ridiculous, doesn’t it?
After all, isn’t there a way to be proud of both your gender and your country?
The way I see it, they’re not mutually exclusive.
In the end, it’s the fans who feel the sting of this disunity and disrespect.
They’re the ones who’ve spent their hard-earned money and time to support these women on the world stage. They didn’t sign up for a silent display during the national anthem, did they?
Just remember, ladies, you’re representing us – all of us. That includes those who sing the national anthem with pride and those who place their hands on their hearts. It’s time to find a better way to make your point – one that doesn’t leave your fan base, and your country, feeling left out in the cold.
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