President Donald Trump said on June 24 that he thought it was not appropriate for U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe to protest during the national anthem.
Rapinoe, co-captain of the U.S. women’s soccer team, garnered extensive attention after she refused to sing the “The Star-Spangled Banner" before the team’s first World Cup match against Thailand on June 11. She had already received backlash for becoming the first white athlete to kneel during the anthem in 2016 after NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the anthem in order to protest against perceived racism and inequality by law enforcement toward African Americans.
