Dear Mr. Lynch,
We鈥檝e met before. I found you to be good-natured and intelligent, with the best intentions of your franchise in mind. I鈥檝e covered your team and players in the past, and I intend to continue to do so moving forward.
On Wednesday night, your Washington Spirit beat the Seattle Reign 2-1 at Maureen Hendricks Field in Boyds, Maryland, clinching the first home playoff game in franchise history. That should have been the headline the following morning, a celebration of the best team in the NWSL this year.
I don鈥檛 have to tell you that it isn鈥檛.
Reign and US Women鈥檚 National Team star Megan Rapinoe began kneeling during the national anthem last week in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his efforts to draw attention to racial inequality in America. She announced her intention to keep doing so heading into Wednesday night鈥檚 game, an . So you pre-emptively , then issued the following statement to justify your actions.
Statement from Washington Spirit owner Bill Lynch on decision to play national anthem with teams not on field.
— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf)
It was an act as hypocritical and cowardly as it was self-serving.
You claim that the anthem holds an exceptional meaning for your organization because it is owned by veterans, then stomp all over the idea of free expression, as fundamental an American value as there is worth fighting for.
Neither of us are black, or women, so we don鈥檛 have the same experience of America as Kaepernick or Rapinoe. I鈥檓 not a veteran, so I don鈥檛 have the same experience of America as you do. Every American sees this country through his or her own eyes. But as another veteran recently said, this isn鈥檛 about any of our feelings.
I served my country. I take pride in the national anthem. But Colin Kaepernick's protest isn't about my feelings.
— Matt Ufford (@mattufford)
Rapinoe, never one to mince words, was understandably furious at your decision.
Rapinoe: "It was incredibly distasteful, 4 days before 1 of the worst tragedies in our country, to say I tried to hijack this event."
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider)
Her invocation of 9/11 wasn鈥檛 even necessary. In the razor edge political climate of 2016, the word 鈥渉ijack鈥� carries its own innuendo. For you to聽use it 鈥� twice, no less 鈥� rather than 鈥渃ommandeer,鈥� or 鈥渁ppropriate,鈥� or 鈥渟teal,鈥� or, hell, even 鈥渒idnap,鈥� was a conscious decision to position her stance as anti-American, when it was anything but. This wasn鈥檛 a flippant, offhand remark made in passing. It was a written statement sent to the press.
Professional athletes have a platform to speak that few in society are afforded. Their choice to use it is their prerogative. We don鈥檛 have to agree or disagree, but it鈥檚 not ownership鈥檚 place to take it away from them.
Your decision is even worse, because the NWSL is run by the United States Soccer Federation, the sport鈥檚 official governing body. An owner of a club stripping a player (who doesn鈥檛 even play for his club!) of her free expression 鈥� especially a silent, nonviolent act such as this 鈥� is particularly galling.
You say you are personally communicating with your own players about your decision. Why not communicate directly with Rapinoe? Why didn鈥檛 you simply meet with her, listen to her reasons, have a real discussion about the issue, and explain your own side of the situation?
If you really cared about this issue, what are you doing about it other than keeping others from drawing attention to it?
You say you 鈥渟trongly feel that there are better ways to begin a conversation about a cause.鈥� Is this what you had in mind? You have the floor now, Mr. Lynch. How would you propose we call attention to the cause of racial inequality in America 鈥� you know, the cause you fail to name in your statement 鈥� now that all eyes are on you?
You鈥檝e got a home playoff game coming up, and I intend to be there. I鈥檓 looking forward to your proposed solutions.
