US Soccer is considering repealing its ban on kneeling during the national anthem, setting the stage for another showdown between Trump and Megan Rapinoe

• The US Soccer Federation is considering repealing a ban on kneeling during the national anthem in light of recent protests over the death of George Floyd.
• The governing body for the US men's and women's national teams instituted the ban in 2017 after USWNT star Megan Rapinoe kneeled in solidarity with then-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
• The USSF board will meet Tuesday and likely take a formal vote on the matter Friday, per ESPN.

Kneeling during the national anthem has been a hotly-debated topic for years, but the killing of George Floyd and ensuing protests against police brutality have cast the discussion back into the spotlight.

Players in the NFL — where the gesture first originated with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick — have discussed kneeling when the 2020 season begins in the fall. And now, the US Soccer Federation is considering giving US Men's and Women's National Team players the green light to protest as well.

The governing body for the national teams instituted a ban on kneeling during the anthem in 2017. The move came in response to Megan Rapinoe's decision to kneel in solidarity with Kaepernick and support the movement against police brutality.

The pink-haired USWNT striker — who made headlines in 2019 after vowing that she wasn't "going to the f------ White House" and subsequently battling with President Trump on social media — kneeled as the national anthem played before a match against Thailand's national team. She also did so with her National Women's Soccer League club, OL Reign.

But then US Soccer instituted policy 604-1, which required "All persons representing a Federation national team shall stand respectfully during the playing of national anthems at any event in which the Federation is represented."

Though there had not been much discussion of overturning the ban in the years since, Floyd's death has prompted a resurgence in the movement against police brutality. Protests have emerged in cities across the United States in recent weeks because Floyd — an unarmed black man — died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and others kneeled on his neck and back for more than eight minutes.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, while the three other officers on the scene were charged with aiding and abetting murder.

When Kaepernick first kneeled in 2016, he stated that his goal was to shine a light on the disproportionate number of deaths of black men at the hands of police officers. Now that seemingly the entire world is captivated by the social justice issue, the movement Kaepernick started has taken on new life in the NFL and beyond.

According to ESPN, USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone has urged the federation's board of directors to consider revoking its official stance on kneeling during the anthem. The board will meet virtually on Tuesday and likely vote on the matter by the end of the week. Should they pass the measure, it would take effect immediately.

Though its unclear which way the board will lean, ESPN's Jeff Carlisle reports that Parlow Cone "received enough support from board members to be optimistic as to the possibility of repeal."

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