FC Dallas fans booed players who knelt for the national anthem in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and the team's defender called them 'absolutely disgusting'
- FC Dallas fans booed while players took a knee during the national anthem on Wednesday night.
- It was the first MLS game played outside of the Orlando bubble in six months.
- After the match, FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon called the boos "absolutely disgusting."
FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon didn't mince words while calling out critics of MLS players' on-field protests on Wednesday night.
"Absolutely disgusting," Cannon told reporters after the game. "You got fans booing for people taking a stand for what they believe in."
It was the first MLS game played outside the bubble since March, and a limited number of fans were allowed inside the stadium. Both FC Dallas and Nashville SC were forced to pull out of the MLS is Back tournament in Orlando, Florida, due to outbreaks of COVID-19.
The two teams had been itching to play for nearly six months, but when they took a knee in unison as the national anthem played, the players were met with boos from the home crowd.
"We got fans booing us in our own stadium. How disgraceful is that?" Cannon said.
"We asked for no anthem because we don't feel it was right for the anthem to be played at this moment," Cannon said. "They ignored our wishes, so we were going to kneel regardless if the anthem was played or not."
Cannon couldn't hold back his anger with fans and their apparent inability to grasp the players' cause.
"They don't understand what kneeling means. They don't understand why we're kneeling. They can't see the reason. They just think that we're the ignorant ones, and it's incredibly frustrating," Cannon said. "I'm sorry to have this tone, but you have to call it for what it is."
The announced attendance for the game was 2,912, with fans asked to sign a liability waiver before entering the arena, agreeing not to take legal action against the club or the league.
Nashville SC scored the only goal of the match in the 86th minute, with David Accam playing hero for the club, giving the team its first MLS win since joining the league as an expansion club this year.
- Read more: