U.S. women’s national team midfielder Megan Rapinoe has followed in the footsteps of NFL Star Colin Kaepernick.
Rapinoe, 31, went down on one knee during the U.S. national anthem being played at Seattle Reign’s game against the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL on Sunday evening.
The USWNT veteran had since explained her decision to not stand for the national anthem was fueled by the ongoing actions of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kaepernick as he has refused to stand for the anthem throughout preseason in a protest against racial injustice and police brutality in the USA. Kaepernick has been widely criticized for his decision to not stand for the anthem.
Rapinoe — who won 2012 Olympic gold with the U.S. and the 2015 World Cup — later revealed her action was “a nod to Kaepernick” and she also urged others via her Twitter account to “keep the conversation going.”
Speaking to American Soccer Now, this is what Rapinoe had to say about her actions and why she felt the need to kneel for the Star-Spangled Banner.
“It was very intentional,” Rapinoe said. “It was a little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now. I think it’s actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it and made it about something that it absolutely isn’t. We need to have a more thoughtful, two-sided conversation about racial issues in this country.
“Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties. It was something small that I could do and something that I plan to keep doing in the future and hopefully spark some meaningful conversation around it. It’s important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this. We don’t need to be the leading voice, of course, but standing in support of them is something that’s really powerful.”
After the break for the 2022 World Cup, the Premier League returned with a bang and the start to 2023 delivered plenty of fun and it continued into the business end of the season.
Manchester City chased down Arsenal to win yet another Premier League title. Manchester United’s new-look side reclaimed a place in the top four, and so did Newcastle. Brighton and Aston Villa surprised by qualifying for Europe, while Liverpool dips into an unusual competition for its recent standards.
Teams were relegated. Managers were sacked. And here’s how the table looked when all was said and done.
Leicester City has been relegated to the Championship despite getting the win it needed to have hope of survival: a 2-1 defeat of West Ham United at the King Power Stadium on Championship Sunday.
Leicester entered the day two points back of Everton for 17th place on the Premier League table and got goals from Harvey Barnes and Wout Faes to secure three points, but Everton outlasted Bournemouth 1-0 to match the Foxes and keep them below the dreaded line.
Leicester finishes its season with 34 points in 18th place on the Premier League table.
West Ham, on the other hand, will be forgiven for focusing on the Europa Conference League Final but fought hard for an equalizer even though it only found a Pablo Fornals marker after Leicester had gone ahead two. The Irons finish 14th with 40 points.
“Too little, too late” may go down as the story of the Foxes season.
Leicester did not get its recruitment plans correct — somewhat forced by Financial Fair Play — and then put too much faith in Brendan Rodgers to make things work.
Dean Smith got some performances out of this men, few better than Sunday, but this ultimately feels like a fait accompli:Sometimes, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Despite big seasons from Harvey Barnes and James Maddison, this was that.
There’s also the question of playing for a draw against Newcastle on Monday, but let’s not heap criticism on Dean Smith for taking a calculated risk. He deserves better.
Leicester vs West Ham player ratings: Stars of the Show
Leicester would love to see Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Wilfred Ndidi pass fitness checks, but Dean Smith will have rested and ready Harvey Barnes and James Maddison in a bid to score more goals than the Irons.
West Ham could be seeing the penultimate appearance of Declan Rice in an Irons shirt, as the big-money midfielder is being linked to several big clubs in the Premier League.
Leicester team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: James Justin (calf), Jannik Vestergaard (calf), Wilfred Ndidi (thigh), Caglar Soyuncu (thigh), Ryan Bertrand (other)
Leeds (31 points – 19th place) have been relegated from the Premier League after they were beaten 4-1 by Tottenham at Elland Road on the final day of the 2022-23 season.
Harry Kane scored twice more to complete his second 30-goal season, as Tottenham (60 points – 8th place) missed out on the Premier League’s final European place with Aston Villa beating 6th-place Brighton to qualify for the Europa Conference League. Now, a painfully pivotal summer of hirings and signings awaits for Spurs.
It was a nightmare start for Leeds, who needed not only a victory of their own but also points to be dropped by both Everton and Leicester above them. Tottenham’s first foray into Leeds’ penalty area ended with Kane hammering the ball past Joel Robles.
New half, same story for Leeds, who conceded once again barely a minute into the second half. Kane turned provider this time, as he lofted a blind ball into the channel for the overlapping Pedro Porro, who barely had a sight of goal with Robles smothering the near post. But, Porro placed a pinpoint strike just inside the far post from a tight angle.
Leeds gave themselves a faint hope when he slotted home after Georginio Rutter picked him out between two defenders in the 67th minute, but Kane answered just two minutes later with his second of the day and the 280th — and potentially final — goal of his Tottenham career.
“Everyone connected with Leeds United is deeply disappointed by the club’s relegation back to the Sky Bet Championship, after three seasons in the Premier League.
“Relegation is painful, and we apologize to our fanbase that the performances this season have not seen the club consolidate our status as we had all hoped.
“However, Leeds United remains in a strong position to build a team that can challenge for promotion from the Championship next season.
“We know things have not been good enough, we know we have to improve, but please be assured that behind the scenes we have worked hard to ensure that the past will not be repeated. Our focus is now on how we get straight back to the Premier League.
“Thank you for your unwavering support for the players and the badge, our objective is to continue to build the club into the one you deserve.”
Stars of the show
Photo: FotMob.com
Leeds vs Tottenham, final score: 1-4
2nd minute – Harry Kane hammers home Tottenham’s opening goal
A nightmare start for Leeds as Harry Kane scores within the first two minutes of the match.
Leeds have had plenty of time opportunities to drag themselves out of the bottom-three and away from the relegation scrap as a whole, but they are now winless in their last eight games (0W-2D-6L) and have won just three of their last 24. Their biggest problem? The Premier League’s worst defensive record in 2022-23 — 74 goals conceded in 37 games. In each of the last four seasons, the side to concede the most goals has been relegated.
With another summer of uncertainty (from the manager to most of the first-team squad) on the cards for Spurs, Sunday could be the final time Harry Kane pulls on the white shirt of Tottenham, following reports this week that he will ask — or perhaps has already asked — to leave the club if a fair offer is made. Kane’s 278 goals make him the club’s all-time record goal scorer, and his departure could signal a full-blown tear-down and rebuild for the incoming manager still to be hired.
Leeds team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Tyler Adams (hamstring – out for season), Luis Sinisterra (ankle – out for season), Patrick Bamford (thigh)
OUT: Cristian Romero (undisclosed), Rodrigo Bentancur (torn ACL – out for season), Hugo Lloris (hip), Eric Dier (hernia), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (undisclosed)
Aston Villa (61 points – 7th place) finished Unai Emery’s first (partial) season in charge by qualifying for the Europa Conference League with a 2-1 victory over Brighton at Villa Park on Sunday.
Brighton (62 points – 6th place) entered the final day of the 2022-23 season having already qualified for next season’s Europa League. It will be the Seagulls’ first time in European competition in club history.
Aston Villa wasted little time getting off the mark, as they broke down the left wing and Jacob Ramsey found Douglas Luiz in acres of space atop Brighton’s penalty area. The Brazilian had all kinds of time to position his body and pick his spot inside the far post.
Brighton thought they had pulled level in the 19th minute, but video review revealed that Julio Enciso was offside before picking out Deniz Undav. Seven minutes later, Aston Villa streaked from one end to the other again, and again it was Jacob Ramsey who provided the set-up, this time for Ollie Watkins, as the two danced around the out-rushing Jason Steele to make it 2-0.
Eventually, Brighton bagged a goal that counted in the 38th minute, and what a well-worked set-piece routine it was. Pascal Gross clipped the ball into the penalty area, away from the mass of bodies jostling for position before taking flight, and right to Undav, who had peeled away from everyone else and was all by himself with time to let the ball bounce, collect it and fire past Emi Martinez.
8th minute – Douglas Luiz puts Aston Villa ahead with an early goal
26th minute – Ollie Watkins finishes a counter-attack to make it 2-0
38th minute – Deniz Undav scores from a clever set-piece routine by Brighton
How to watch Aston Villa vs Brighton live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 11:30am ET, Sunday TV Channel: Peacock Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines & in-form players to watch
Aston Villa were excellent at Liverpool as they were very dangerous in the first half with Ollie Watkins causing chaos, while Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey were all superb surging forward from midfield. In the second half they dug in defensively and rode their luck but that point has put European qualification in their own hands. The best thing about this Villa side is that they have incredible balance and every single player knows exactly what they are supposed to do.
Brighton were superb against Manchester City as Roberto de Zerbi rotated his lineup and it worked extremely well. They are a joy to watch and teenager Julio Enciso smashed home a stunner to grab the point which secured their spot in the Europa League group stage.
Aston Villa team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Jed Steer (calf), Philippe Coutinho (muscle), Alex Moreno (thigh)
