USMNT Players Wear Jackets With Messages During Anthem for Social Justice, Unity

U.S. players stood for the national anthem before facing Wales but took the moment to bring awareness to important issues.

Players for the U.S. men's national team stood during the national anthem ahead of Thursday's friendly vs. Wales, but they still took the moment to acknowledge what plenty of anthem protests have been about.

Walking out to the field to line up, the U.S. players each donned jackets over their jerseys that read "Be the Change" on the front and had varying messages of the players' choice across the back of them (a full list of messages can be seen here). The starting players then locked arms during the anthem, standing throughout. Players from both sides took a knee for a moment prior to the first kick.

U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams had indicated the team would be doing something earlier in the week, saying on Monday that, "We just want to continue to educate the people about what's going on and continuing to happen. The most important part is to progress and move forward, so I think there'll be something on game day that we do. But the internal discussions have been great within the team of supporting one another, sharing each other's beliefs."

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Thursday's match was the first national team game for any senior U.S. team since U.S. Soccer members voted to repeal the federation's policy requiring players to stand for the anthem following the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police. It had been put in place after Megan Rapinoe kneeled to show support for Colin Kaepernick's peaceful protest in 2016. While no U.S. men's player kneeled Thursday, it was not out of some mandate requiring the team to stand.

The @USMNT locks arms in unity for the national anthem before their first game since February. pic.twitter.com/uG8tw1s56m

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 12, 2020

"The U.S. Soccer Federation affirms Black Lives Matter, and we support the fight against racial injustices," U.S. Soccer wrote in a June statement. "The U.S. Soccer Board of Directors voted yesterday afternoon to repeal Policy 604-1, which required our players to stand during the national anthem. The policy was put in place after Megan Rapinoe kneeled in solidarity with the peaceful protest inspired by Colin Kaepernick, who was protesting police brutality, and the systematic oppression of Black people and people of color in America. It has become clear that this policy was wrong and detracted from the important message of Black Lives Matter. 

"We have not done enough to listen –especially to our players–to understand and acknowledge the very real and meaningful experiences of Black and other minority communities in our country. We apologize to our players–especially our Black players–staff, fans, and all who support eradicating racism. Sports are a powerful platform for good, and we have not used our platform as effectively as we should have. We can do more on these specific issues and we will. 

"It should be, and will be going forward, up to our players to determine how they can best use their platforms to fight all forms of racism, discrimination, and inequality. We are here for our players and are ready to support them in elevating their efforts to achieve social justice. We cannot change the past, but we can make a difference in the future. We are committed to this change effort, and we will be implementing supporting actions in the near future."

Anthem and pregame protests and demonstrations have been prevalent on the club level in the U.S. and around the world in the aftermath of Floyd's killing in late May. Many NWSL players kneeled for the anthem throughout the summer Challenge Cup, while MLS's Black Players for Change orchestrated a powerful demonstration at the start of the MLS Is Back tournament. In Europe, clubs have routinely kneeled at the opening whistle as a sign of unity.