Rep. Matt Gaetz — lashing out at the U.S. Soccer Federation’s decision to rescind its ban on players taking the knee during the national anthem — says he’ll introduce a bill to force them to stand during the song.
“If our soccer team is going to disrespect our anthem and our flag, it is not essential for us to have,” the Florida Republican tweeted, linking to his podcast “Hot Takes.”
“I certainly think that we have the right to compel that our national team stand for the national anthem,” Gaetz said.
"While our anthem is playing, while you serve on the team, I think there is an obligation to respect our country.”
Gaetz said he was “triggered” to make the decision after the soccer federation’s board voted Tuesday to repeal a policy that required its athletes to stand for the song.
“You shouldn’t get to play under our flag as our national team if you won’t stand when it is raised,” Gaetz tweeted Thursday.
He laid out his planned bill on his podcast.
“I don’t like soccer enough for the U.S. to even have a soccer team if that soccer team is going to disrespect our anthem and our flag,” Gaetz said, the Washington Times reported.
“It is not like some essential thing that we have to have, if latched to the U.S. Soccer Team is this sense of such extreme wokeness that we cannot be proud of the United States while wearing the uniform of the United States.”
The soccer federation repealed Policy 604-1, which had been put in place three years ago after star athlete Megan Rapinoe took a knee during the anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the professional football player who’d started doing so to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
Gaetz hasn’t revealed any precise details about his proposal, but the podcast title suggested the soccer federation would face unspecified “financial repercussions” if it doesn’t walk back its reversal.
“If players are playing for our national team, they should respect the honor that that bestows, they should stand for the anthem, they should respect our flag,” Gaetz said, the Washington Times reported. “If we love America, we would expect and deserve and demand, no less.”
Forbes noted it may be tough to enforce such legislation, noting the USSF fields teams that compete under the nation’s colors, but aren’t bankrolled by regular federal funding, and that players aren’t directly financially supported by the government.
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