UCLA Women’s soccer team have been protesting racial inequality and injustice in the same spirit as Colin Kaepernick for a second season in a row now, as two of their starters as well as coaches and bench players, all knelt during the national anthem recently. Head Coach Amanda Cromwell told the press,
“It’s about supporting the cause of racial justice and equality in the world. I love that our team is socially active. We’re politically active and we support them across the board.”
Kennedy Faulknor and Kaiya McCullough both knelt after the team had discussed how they were affected by the issues highlighted by Colin Kaepernick, and in consultation with military veterans on their coaching staff.
Two UCLA women soccer players kneeling during National Anthem before taking on LMU pic.twitter.com/dFo9I6Li1A
— Fred J. Robledo 👨🏻💻 (@SGVNSports) September 14, 2018
UCLA’s associate head coach Joshua Walters last season, now the head coach at James Madison University, was a member of the National guard. Current UCLA assistant coach Jenny Bindon is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. Both knelt with the team last year before rising as the anthem played.
The Bruins joined in the protest shortly after Donald Trump called the kneeling NFLers “sons of b****es” in 2017. They look set to be unified in their support of the protest as they continue this season.