The US Soccer Federation is set to meet on Tuesday to discuss repealing of a policy that asks national team players to stand during the national anthem. According to a report on ESPN, the board will take a formal vote on Friday in all likelihood.
Policy 604-1, passed at US Soccer's AGM in 2017, states: "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."
If the board votes to repeal the policy, it would take effect immediately, but it would still have to be voted on at the next annual general meeting, scheduled to take place in February or March. At that point, the National Council could either back the repeal or vote to keep the policy in place.
A USSF spokesperson confirmed that a repeal of the policy is under consideration.
The policy was brought into effect when US footballer Megan Rapinoe kneeled for the national anthem before a 2016 match against Thailand in a bid to support then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during the anthem prior to NFL games to protest racial inequality.
Rapinoe did the same several times with her club, the Seattle Reign, now known as OL Reign. Following the policy's adoption, Rapinoe honoured the policy like she said she would.
However the recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody has brought the spotlight back on the very issues Kaepernick and Rapinoe had raised.
Some of those demonstrations have included protesters and some police officers kneeling in memory of Floyd. These incidents led the USSF to reconsider its policy, sources said.
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