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The American soccer star Megan Rapinoe became a household name back in 2016 when she followed the lead of the NFL star Colin Kaepernick by taking a knee during the national anthem before her games. In a new interview, Rapinoe is opening up about how it was an “easy decision” for her to start taking a knee after seeing Kaepernick do the same. 

Rapinoe Sounds Off

“I thought it made perfect sense the second that I heard Colin speak,” Rapinoe said. “I feel like, I can still remember, that you know the sports center clip him in front of his locker.”

“You know, I feel like what he said then is as applicable now as it will be in you know 10 20 years,” she added. 

Though Rapinoe and Kaepernick have claimed that they were taking a knee to protest against racial inequality in America, many saw it as a clear sign of disrespect to the American flag and to those who have fought and died for it. Despite the backlash, Rapinoe stood by taking a knee at the time. 

Related: Megan Rapinoe Calls American History ‘Gross’, Says White People Need To Defer Leadership

Rapinoe Defends Herself

“I can understand if you think that I’m disrespecting the flag by kneeling, but it is because of my utmost respect for the flag and the promise it represents that I have chosen to demonstrate in this way,” she said in 2016, according to Bleacher Report.

“When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country’s ultimate symbol of freedom — because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country,” Rapinoe continued. 

“I know that actions must be taken to help bring about real change,” she later added. “Right now, I am reaching out to community leaders, corporate partners and leaders within the Black Lives Matter movement to figure out all the ways I can best support the efforts already in motion.”

Daily Mail reported that in 2020, Rapinoe expressed her shock over the backlash she received for taking a knee. 

“I was called every name under the sun… and a talking point on Fox News. I was totally blindsided,” she said. 

Related: Megan Rapinoe Says It’s ‘Courageous’ To Quit Things

Kaepernick Speaks Out – Gets Slammed

Kaepernick also has refused to back down to the backlash over his woke protest. 

“This is not something that I am going to run by anybody,” Kaepernick said in 2016. “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”

Last week, the Fox News host Laura Ingraham slammed Kaepernick, saying that “the moment he decided to take a knee to protest police brutality, Kaepernick found himself a career that provided better pay and more job security than anything it ever does on the football field.”

“De facto president of Racial Victimology Inc., he was the perfect vessel into which the media and America-hating leftists could pour their enthusiastic support,” she added.

Both Kaepernick and Rapinoe have found fame and fortune by going woke and disrespecting the national anthem. It’s sad that we live in a time when people are celebrated for doing something that is so blatantly anti-American. 

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