Soccer is often a platform to send messages of peace and unity. From helping prisoners of war during the Great War to promoting and supporting children’s education, the sport has been, and is, influential on a large scale. One incident echoed something similar when Megan Rapinoe’s colleague and USWNT icon, Carli Lloyd, made a symbolic gesture.

The 41-year-old former World Champion with the US Women’s team was fiercely competitive on the field. Off the pitch, Lloyd is one of the biggest revolutionaries of women’s soccer.

Carli Lloyd snubs her teammates to follow her conviction

In the course of her career, Lloyd has been involved in welfare programs for the American Charity for Diabetes and the Football for Peace. However, during a game, when players took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, including Megan Rapinoe, Lloyd, rather strangely abstained from doing so. She has now shared her thought-provoking reason while speaking to Kate Abdo.

Revealing why she refused to take the knee, Carli Llyod said, “I just felt that we had done enough of the kneeling, and I just wanted to stand for my last World Championship game.”

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The former Olympic winner refused to stand for the gesture of unity against racial discrimination in the Bronze medal match of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Having taken the knee five times prior, the striker claimed the gesture to be more ritualistic than practical, with no actionable results.

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Lloyd, in this case, did not deny the importance of the issue but rather requested the need for actionable change.

Lloyd feels that people need to show more respect

The 2 time FIFA Player of the Year refused to oblige and take the knee. Being one of the best players of all time in women’s soccer, Lloyd said she looked at everyone as human and reasoned that people need to show more respect for the issue.

She said, “There’s a lot of things that need to be different. There’s a lot more respect that people need to show. I’ve always viewed every single person as a human being. No matter who you look like, no matter who you are, no matter what you represent.”

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Although she knelt for the first five instances, the former FIFA Golden Ball winner feels that the media gives off an incorrect picture. The usually outspoken player followed her view but cleared that she did not disrespect the gesture either. Carli Lloyd retired from soccer the same season, in 2020, and Megan Rapione is looking to do the same soon.