NWSL players kneel during national anthem

Players for the Portland Thorns and the North Carolina Courage knelt during the national anthem June 27 when the National Women’s Soccer League opened the Challenge Cup tournament in Utah.

The players and coaches wore Black Lives Matter Tshirts in warmups before the game, which was nationally televised on CBS. The players also knelt during a moment of silence before kickoff.

“We took a knee today to protest racial injustice, police brutality and systemic racism against Black people and people of color in America. We love our country and we have taken this opportunity to hold it to a higher standard. It is our duty to demand that the liberties and freedoms this nation was founded upon are extended to everyone,” the Thorns and Courage said in a joint statement released before the game.

The league said June 26 that it would play the national anthem before the Challenge Cup games and that it would support the players in whatever they chose to do.

The NWSL is the first professional team sport in the United States to return amid the coronavirus outbreak. The monthlong Challenge Cup opened Saturday with a pair of games played without fans at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.

The Courage defeated the Thorns, 2-1, in June 27’s opening match. The Chicago Red Stars play the Washington Spirit in the late game.

“Today, hopefully, it was a powerful statement,” Courage midfielder Sam Mewis said. “It was an emotional time and I hope that both teams’ message comes through clearly.”

Thorns defender Becky

Sauerbrunn said: ‘‘The (players’ association) has been about collaborating with teams on what we can do to maintain and sustain the conversation around racial injustice in this country.

“We made a strong statement and we wanted to kind of maintain that momentum that has been happening and to show official commitment to the cause,” she added.

Megan Rapinoe, who plays for OL Reign but opted out of the Challenge Cup, was criticized when she knelt at an NWSL game and a pair of U.S. national team games in 2016. She said she wanted to express solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during the anthem to bring attention to racial inequality.

In response, U.S. Soccer adopted a rule that required players to stand. But that rule was repealed earlier this month amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd and racial inequity.

Rapinoe voiced her support for the NWSL players Saturday on social media: “You love to see these women using their voice, demanding better for America, and for black people and people of color.” Mewis said the teams plan to keep calling attention to racial injustice.

“I think we want to keep this momentum and keep the attention on the Black Lives Matter movement throughout this tournament,” she said.

RICK BOWMER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS North Carolina Courage forward Lynn Williams, left, and Portland Thorns FC midfielder Lindsey Horan vie for a header during the first half of an NWSL Challenge Cup match June 27 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.