Former United States women’s national team star Hope Solo accused Megan Rapinoe of “bullying” her teammates into kneeling for the national anthem.
Rapinoe, one of the most outspoken players on the USWNT, began kneeling for the national anthem in 2016. She was later joined by many of her teammates.
Solo, who last played for the United States women’s national team in 2016, accused Rapinoe of basically bullying her teammates into doing it.
“It’s tough,” Solo told Goal. “I’ve seen Megan Rapinoe almost bully players into kneeling because she really wants to stand up for something in her particular way.
“But it’s our right as Americans to do it whatever way we’re comfortable with, and I think that’s really hard being on the main stage right now with so many political issues for athletes. There’s a lot of pressure, and ultimately, at the end of the day, our number one focus should and has always been to win first.”
Solo’s accusation has since made major headlines across the sports world. But fans are wondering – when exactly did Solo witness this?
“This is a completely fabricated story. Hope Solo’s last appearance was at the 2016 Rio Olympics, two weeks before Megan Rapinoe joined Colin Kaepernick in kneeling for the anthem (and Rapinoe did so alone; none of her teammates joined her),” Timothy Burke tweeted.
Now, it’s possible that Solo could have witnessed this at another time, or been told about it by one of her ex-teammates.
So is no one gonna question the fact that @mPinoe didn’t even start kneeling until after hope solo was kicked off the team?!?! Someone make it make sense. https://t.co/jbWeunpU4b pic.twitter.com/0rNdz0uEne
— Madison Huszar (@mad_madz_) August 17, 2021
Still, the sports world is questioning this one.
Seattle soccer fans may recall that Megan Rapinoe took a knee in solidarity w/Colin Kaepernick for the first time in September 2016.
By then, Hope Solo had already left both the USWNT and the Seattle Reign. They were no longer teammates.https://t.co/6HstrgkdDV
— Craig Welch (@CraigAWelch) August 17, 2021
Rapinoe has yet to respond to Solo’s accusation, though the United States women’s national team star can hopefully provide some clarity moving forward.
The post Sports World Reacts To Hope Solo’s Major Accusation appeared first on The Spun.
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