USWNT isn't quite the anti-American troupe it's made out to be in the World Cup | Whitley
From the Is the Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full file, we bring you the latest kerfuffle from the U.S. Women’s soccer team.
A lot of players aren’t singing the national anthem or placing their hands over their hearts before World Cup games. That has prompted the predictable backlash.
“It’s disgusting,” Megyn Kelly told her 1.3 million YouTube subscribers.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley tweeted they aren’t grateful for “living the American Dream.”
As a hopelessly patriotic throwback, I’m sympathetic to such thinking. But this particular critique is a bit overwrought.
Nobody usually gets worked up when players don’t belt out The Star-Spangled Banner before games. Given the singing skills of the average NFL tight end, I’m happy they don’t try to make like Whitney Houston before Super Bowl XXVI.
But history has conditioned critics to pounce on the USWNT. Led by Megan Rapinoe, it has become known as much for social justice stances as soccer.
Whatever your stance on all that, it’s one thing to take a knee when you’re wearing an Orlando Pride uniform. It’s another when you put on a USA jersey in international competition.
If you’re that embarrassed to represent your country, even with all its flaws, you should stay home. Given that, I see the 2023 Women’s World Cup as a twinkling light at the end of the protest tunnel.
Nobody’s kneeling during the national anthem. About half of them are holding their hands over their hearts, which is more than you can say for a lot of NFL and NBA players.
And a few are singing along to the national anthem. Even if it is off-key, that should sound like music to more critics’ ears…
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Stud of the Week: Aaron Rodgers
For giving up a guaranteed $35 million to make it easier for the Jets to sign other players. I don’t care if you’ve already made $300 million, $35 mil will pay for a lot of darkness retreats.
Stud II: Soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe
For passing up a one-year contract offer of $776 million – yes, $776 million - with the Al Hilal of the Saudi Professional League. Mbappe reportedly backed out when Al Hilal said it might eventually trade him to the Jets…
Dud of the Week: Georgia defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
For becoming the 288th Bulldog to get pulled over for speeding in the past year. He was ticketed for doing 90 mph in a 70 mph zone. If the NCAA fined schools for speeding, Georgia would need a Saudi oil baron to pick up the tab…
Dud III: Deshaun Watson
For saying the media created the narrative that led to last year’s reputational woes. I’m fairly confident no reporter was among the 482 massage therapists who accused him of sexual misconduct…
LSU gymnast/cheesecake queen Olivia Dunne is so popular, she told Elle magazine she can no longer attend classes for safety reasons. I think that was the same excuse Deion Sanders used at FSU…
Speaking of Coach Prime, his presence singlehandedly paved the way for Colorado to escape the Pac-12 and join the Big 12 last week. About the only thing that can save the Pac-12 now would be if it could clone Olivia Dunne and have her start at quarterback for the few remaining teams…
Lassie Go Home: A Japanese man who paid $15,700 for a very realistic collie costume shared a video of his first public walk as a dog last week. The man said he’s always dreamed of being a canine but has been skittish about coming out.
“I rarely tell my friends,” he said, “because I am afraid they will think I am weird.”
Ya think?...
This Just In: The Saudi Public Investment Fund has offered God a $3.9 billion fee to transfer Pele from heaven to Al Hilal…
After practice on Monday, Deshaun Watson blamed the media for creating a negative narrative around Vladimir Putin…
In a preemptive move, participants in the Westminster Dog Show have threatened to walk out if a Japanese man is allowed to declare himself a collie and compete in next year’s Herding Group…
Arch Manning’s first trading card was auctioned for $103,000 on Saturday. "That's insane," said the director of the Saudi Public Investment Fund…
Breaking News: Megan Rapinoe says she will kneel during the national anthem if Toco is not allowed to compete in the Westminster Dog Show…
After being off-limits to swimmers for a century, Paris officials announced last week the Seine River has been cleaned up enough to be part of the triathlon competition in next year’s Olympics. The IOC said swimmers will not be allowed to use any corpses they bump into as floatation devices…
Seriously, how many would Olivia Dunne have passed for against last year’s Florida secondary?...
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It Or Not. Until next time, if a friend tells you he wants to spend $15,000 on a dog costume and go for walks in a park, feel free to tell him he’s weird.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: USWNT isn't as anti-American as critics say
