The U.S. Soccer Federation will no longer require players to stand for the national anthem. 71.34 percent of National Council members voted on Saturday 02/27/2021 to repeal a 2017 rule that had been put in place as a response to Megin Rapinoe’s kneeling for the anthem before a 2016 match against Thailand. The rule stated that, “All persons representing a Federation national team shall stand respectfully during the playing of national anthems at any event in which the Federation is represented.”
The USSF president Cindy Parlow made sure to clarify during the meeting that the repeal of this policy is not meant to disrespect the flag or the military. She stated, “This is about the athletes’ and our staff’s right to peacefully protest racial inequalities and police brutality…”
Is it supposed to be some sort of conciliation that the stated intention of the repeal is not in line with the effect of the action itself? I wonder if this same logic would satisfy Ms. Parlow if some mugger shouted back at her as he ran away, “I never meant to shatter your sense of safety or relieve you of what is yours!” Would she care at all, I wonder, about the stated intention of the mugger, or instead might she realize the overwhelming significance in the effect of his actions?
The mugger analogy may be extreme, but the logic is identical. If you are saying your intentions are “X” but your actions have the effect of “Y” then there are only a few possibilities. Perhaps you do not possess the faculties of logic and reason at all, in which case pity is appropriate. Or, more likely, you are hoping that the people you are trying to fool either do not have the courage to speak against you, or they are too stupid to see the blatant illogic of your position. To provide ample helpings of the benefit of doubt, I suppose we should allow for a fourth possibility, that you really do not understand that your actions have inherent meaning within them that no amount of disconnected intention can negate.
To kneel during the National Anthem is disrespectful. It is not that intention does not matter at all, but it certainly has no effect on whether the act of kneeling is or is not disrespectful. We know this because we have a practice already for how to properly respect the National Anthem that is known by everyone involved in this debate. There is no argument here. If what you mean to portray is respect, then you will stand with your hand over your heart. Here is another hot take for you while we are at it, if you do not mean to start a fight, do not disrespect a man’s mother just before last call at the local dive bar. We could go on and on with obvious statements of actions leading to their natural effects and outcomes. Still, somehow, silly people like Ms. Parlow are allowed to promulgate this idea of intention overriding effect and move on like they did not just say something insane.
Even though it is insane, we cannot overlook the specific excuse given by Ms. Parlow. She says that “…this is about the athletes and our staff…” No Madam President is it not about you, your staff, or your right to peacefully protest. When you put on the jersey that says “USA,” you and your fellow players are representing the nation for which you play. Your cause is greater than what it was before the fabric touched your skin. Your actions are laden with more meaning than they were before you stepped out onto the field. Your will, your efforts, everything you are is now joined with your teammates and ordered toward the glory of your team, your nation, and your God through honorable competition.
Perhaps this is the crux of the issue, that Parlow and others in the USSF have forgotten what it is they are doing on that field when they put on the jersey and display their God-given talents to the world. They lost their way and started to think that true glory, true happiness is in service to self, not to others. They are now of a mindset in which being a part of something greater than themselves, representing proudly the nation that is so free, so prosperous, and so “inclusive” that they can make a living playing soccer, now takes a backseat to their own need for attention. The “ME, ME, ME!!!” mentality of leftism claims another notch in its belt.
It should be noted that this author cannot even get through the utterance of the phrase “President of the United States Soccer Federation” without chuckling uncontrollably at the idea that such a thing even exists. So yes, one could say that a red-blooded, American conservative making a fuss about this recent decision by the USSF seems silly or unnecessary. This is precisely the point, however. This is the culture. This is the fight in which we must participate. If conservatives ever hope to stop the endless yielding of cultural ground to the left, then we must do just that, and stop yielding ground without a fight. Let us remind everyone that will listen of how incredibly full of meaning and worth they truly are, and therefore how powerful a statement they can make with their actions.
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