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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Newly-minted <keyword id="1964982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Florida-State-Seminoles">Florida State Seminoles</keyword> head coach <keyword id="9347711" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mike-norvell">Mike Norvell</keyword> apologized for mischaracterizing his communications with players about the death of George Floyd.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/tashanreed/status/1267967609007267841">According to The Athletic's Tashan Reed</a>, Norvell said he "went back and forth individually with every player" on the team given everything happening in the United States this week.</li><li>FSU defensive tackle <a href="https://twitter.com/marvinwilson21/status/1268395525495193601">Marvin Wilson tweeted Wednesday</a> that Norvell lied, adding: "me and my teammates as a whole are outraged and we will not be working out until further notice."</li><li>After Norvell admitted that "it was a mistake to use the word 'every'" <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Norvell/status/1268615539095515136">in a statement Thursday</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/marvinwilson21/status/1268602712914120705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1268602712914120705&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news4jax.com%2Fsports%2F2020%2F06%2F04%2Ffsus-mike-norvell-apologizes-team-moves-forward-after-players-say-he-lied-about-meeting-with-them%2Fm%2F">Wilson tweeted</a> that he and his teammates "got what we wanted &amp; we are moving forward."</li></ul>Life as head coach of the Florida State Seminoles has gotten off to a rocky start for Mike Norvell.The former Memphis head coach — who made the move to FSU in December — nearly found himself with a player walk-out on his hands before coaching a single game down in Tallahassee.<div type="image" title="mike norvell" height="3600" width="2400" msid="76205570" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://twitter.com/tashanreed/status/1267967609007267841">According to The Athletic's Tashan Reed</a>, Norvell said he "went back and forth individually with every player" on his team to discuss the current situation surrounding George Floyd's death and police brutality in America."That was something that was important to me because this is a heartbreaking time in our country," Norvell said. "We're trying to meet our guys at their need and be able to share some of the emotions that we're all going through."But according to Seminoles defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, it never happened. The senior tweeted Wednesday that "there was no one on one talk between us and coach.""This is a lie," Wilson added. "Me and my teammates as a whole are outraged and we will not be working out until further notice."After Wilson's claims caught fire on social media, Norvell called a closed-door team meeting between players and staff for Thursday. The 38-year-old play-caller then released a statement that "Marvin is right.""It was a mistake to use the word 'every,'" Norvell said. "Particularly at this time, words are important, and I'm sorry."The team practiced Thursday afternoon, <a href="https://twitter.com/tashanreed/status/1268628628339740672">according to Reed, who tweeted</a> that it "looks like things are back to normal" at Florida State. For his part, <a href="https://twitter.com/marvinwilson21/status/1268602712914120705">Wilson tweeted his thanks</a> to Norvell "for encouraging me to use my platform and speak for what me and my teammates believe in.""We got what we wanted &amp; we are moving forward," he added.The Seminoles' conversations surrounding race relations and police brutality come as protests crop up nationwide over Floyd's death. <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">Floyd — an unarmed black man — died after </a><a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and others </a><a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">kneeled on his neck and back for more than eight minutes</a>.Floyd died of asphyxiation, and Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder. The three other officers present at the scene were later arrested on charges of aiding and abetting murder.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-lebron-james-slams-laura-ingraham-drew-brees-comments-2020-6">LeBron James blasts Fox News host Laura Ingraham for double-standard on which athletes she believes can speak out on politics</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-coco-gauff-speech-local-peaceful-protest-calls-for-action-2020-6">Coco Gauff delivered an impassioned speech at her local Black Lives Matter peaceful protest: 'If you are choosing silence, you are choosing the side of the oppressor'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/drew-brees-nfl-players-kneeling-disrespecting-the-flag-united-states-2020-6">Drew Brees on NFL players kneeling next season: 'I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/lapd-ucla-jackie-robinson-stadium-detain-blm-protesters-2020-6">LAPD used UCLA stadium named in honor of Jackie Robinson to detain Black Lives Matter protesters, and the school demanded it stop</a></li></ul>

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell apologized after his own players called him out for lying about George Floyd conversations, avoiding a potential player walk-out

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Swamp ash is a <keyword id="34566" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="wood">wood</keyword> prized by guitar makers and musicians for its light weight and resonant sound.</li><li>But flooding, and a tiny bug, threaten the wood and the sound that is synonymous with rock <keyword id="6354530" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="music">music</keyword>.</li><li><keyword id="1143220" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fender">Fender</keyword> is phasing out ash after 70 years of use, and ash <keyword id="6355381" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trees">trees</keyword> could soon disappear altogether.</li></ul>In 1970, when Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page recorded the iconic solo on "Stairway to Heaven," he was playing a 1959 Fender Telecaster.The guitar was gifted to Page in 1966 by the guitar legend Jeff Beck, who used it himself in the later years of the Yardbirds. Page repainted the guitar, adding an elaborate design of red, green, orange, and blue on the body that vaguely resembled a dragon, giving the instrument its name.The body of Page's renowned <a href="https://www.fender.com/articles/gear/chasing-the-dragon-the-magical-mystery-of-jimmy-page-s-painted-telecaster">Dragon Telecaster</a> was made of ash wood, a longtime favorite for many of rock music's biggest names.Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Buddy Guy, Jerry Garcia, Nile Rodgers, and countless other rock legends have played on ash <keyword id="57703" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Guitars">guitars</keyword> through the decades, Justin Norvell, the executive vice president of Fender Products, told Insider.But now, the trees that ash is harvested from are on the decline, and could soon disappear. A small, invasive bug and excessive flooding are threatening the wood - and, by extension, the sound that epitomizes rock 'n' roll - serving as yet another reminder of the climate crisis and its wide-ranging impact."It's really heartbreaking," Norvell said. "It's one of the main woods we rely on."The shortage of ash prompted Fender to phase out its use after a 70-year run. The wood is now only available to customers willing to pay a premium for it.<div type="image" title="Fender Stratocaster" height="1790" width="2500" msid="82233955" hostid="261"></div><h2>Ash helped make Fender the 'Henry Ford of electric guitars'</h2>"Fender has used ash for many, many years," Norvell told Insider. "It goes back to the company's origins in the late 40s."Leo Fender used ash in the early 1950s in some of Fender's first Telecasters and Stratocasters, guitar models that remain among the most beloved electric guitars. At the time, Fender went with ash for two reasons: it was cheap and available.But it also happened to have a nice sound, which, together with the low cost, helped Fender become the "Henry Ford of electric guitars," according to <a href="https://www.crguitars.com/site/pages/category/about-CR">Craig Snyder</a>, a professional guitar player, collector, and high-end instrument dealer. In the early days of rock 'n' roll, Fender mass produced guitars and sold them at affordable prices. The use of ash persisted, enjoying a decades-long run as one of two primary body woods Fender used for its electric guitars.And it's not just Fender. Snyder, who has played professionally with legends like Elton John and Roberta Flack, said Fender "set a platform for guitar design" that countless other builders still follow."Fender really made ash a bedrock of guitar-making," Snyder said.Fender-style guitars, even when not made by their namesake manufacturer, are among the most popular electric guitars and many still use ash.<div type="image" title="Fender Stratocaster with Ash body by Fender" height="2401" width="5601" msid="82233957" hostid="261"></div>There are dozens of species of ash trees native to North America, but the most popular for guitars is green ash, or Fraxinus pennsylvanica. It grows across much of the United States and Canada, from Nova Scotia down to Florida and as far west as Alberta and eastern Texas. But the green ash most prized for electric guitars grows in the south, in the bottomlands of the Mississippi River."We like lightweight ash, called punky ash or swamp ash," Norvell said. "It's wood that is submerged for part of the year in swamps. When the floods recede, we go in and you can harvest the ash."As a result of growing in standing water, swamp ash is lightweight and soft. It's famous in rock music for giving the guitar a sweet, clear and resonant sound. And while average listeners are unlikely to decipher the tonal characteristics of different types of wood, some players and makers say they can tell when a guitar is made of swamp ash."True swamp ash is real ringy," said <a href="http://marchione.com/">Stephen Marchione</a>, who has been making high-end guitars for some of the world's best players for more than 30 years. Marchione said in addition to its sound, swamp ash's light weight is especially desirable, adding it can knock off nearly five pounds from a guitar."It might not sound like a big difference, but when it's strapped around your neck for two hours it's a lot," he said.Ash also has a beautiful, striking grain pattern, so it's often used on guitars with a natural or transparent finish.<div type="image" title="ash tree" height="2655" width="3540" msid="82233958" hostid="261"></div><h2>A climate crisis and a tiny, shiny pest</h2>In recent years, the floods in the Mississippi Delta have been receding less frequently, limiting the swamp ash that can be harvested and disrupting Fender's ability to get it.Mike Born, the former director of wood technology at Fender, looks at the water levels of the Mississippi River every day. He currently works as a wood consultant and salesperson for Anderson-Tully, the lumber giant that supplies most of the swamp ash used in guitars, including to Fender.Born said the high water levels are driven by snowmelt and heavy rains, and not just over the Mississippi, but from all the rivers that feed into it as well, like the Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri.Scientists say extreme precipitation is <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/global-warming-already-driving-increases-in-rainfall-extremes-1.19508">one of the impacts of the climate crisis</a>. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-and-global-precipitation">precipitation has steadily increased</a> over the past century. In 2019, the Mississippi River experienced one of its worst-ever flooding events due to frequent heavy rains. That year was the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/2019-was-2nd-wettest-year-on-record-for-us#:~:text=2019%20%7C%20January%20through%20December,National%20Centers%20for%20Environmental%20Information.">second-wettest on record for the US</a>, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The unpredictable flooding and receding has created a feast-or-famine effect. Some years, swamp ash can't be harvested at all. In years when it can, makers like Fender stock up on as much as they can get, but that cycle, Norvell suggests, appears to be ending. He offered his assessment of the latest healthy supply of swamp ash, calling it "one of the final feasts of having a bounty of ash wood."There's another factor compounding the problem: a shiny green beetle about the size of a grain of rice.<div type="image" title="emerald ash borer" height="1667" width="2500" msid="82233961" hostid="261"></div>Native to East Asia, the emerald ash borer was first detected in the US in 2002 and has since decimated ash trees, killing tens of millions across the country.The invasive bug likely arrived in the US on shipping pallets from China, but early efforts to contain it were unsuccessful. Infestations were discovered in <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/emerald-ash-borer">35 states</a>, and scientists say it's the most destructive pest ever to plague America's forests.After the emerald ash borer lays its eggs on the bark of an ash tree, larvae bore into the tree and feed on its tissues, disrupting the movement of water and nutrients in the tree and leaving a squiggly trail in its wake. It ultimately kills the tree, and the trails left behind make the wood harder for guitar makers to work with because they have to cut around the markings.While the flooding is causing the most recent swamp ash shortages, ash trees could soon disappear altogether because of the beetle. "It's a mass-extinction event," Born said, adding that without intervention, ash trees could be extinct in North America within a decade."With that, combined with the flooding in the last couple years, we just got to a point where in good conscience we could not maintain a stable supply of healthy quantities of ash," Fender's Norvell said.In April 2020, after seven decades of making ash-bodied guitars, Fender announced it would phase out the wood, reserving it only for premium and historical models.Norvell said it was an "unbelievably hard decision" for the company. "There's an element to this that it's the end of an era," he said.Boutique guitar makers are still able to get swamp ash in the quantities they need, so professional musicians and gearheads who are set on swamp ash can find it, at least for now, but its status as a go-to, everyday wood is quickly changing.<h2><div type="image" title="Fender Telecaster with Ash body and Natural finish by Fender" height="2855" width="3807" msid="82233965" hostid="261"></div></h2><h2>Fighting to preserve ash trees, while looking for alternatives</h2><a href="https://www.americanforests.org/magazine/article/earthkeepers-restoring-the-roots-of-rock/">Roots of Rock</a>, a collaborative initiative between the US Forest Service, Fender, and the nonprofit American Forests, is working to save America's ash trees from the emerald ash borer. Researchers have identified "<a href="https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr_srs252/gtr_srs252_007.pdf">lingering ash trees</a>" that survived infestations after all other ash trees had died."We're taking survivors that had natural resistance and breeding them with each other to produce a green ash species with resistance," said Born, who helped start the project when he was at Fender.Plans are underway to plant the first of these trees in Detroit, near where the beetle was first detected in the US. Even if successful, the project will ultimately take decades, but Born said it's the first step."At least they're going to save ash genetically and they didn't have to hybridize," he said. "This is pure American green ash."Meanwhile, guitar makers are working hard to find a suitable replacement for swamp ash.<a href="https://www.sadowsky.com/">Roger Sadowsky</a>, a renowned instrument maker, has been building electric guitars for legendary musicians since 1979. When he first started researching, all the best musicians he consulted had Fenders from the late '50s and early '60s that were lightweight, which meant they were likely made of swamp ash.Sadowsky said the last few months of 2020 he was calling every wood guy he knew to find ash. More recently, when it was available, he was stockpiling it to get through the next drought. But to compensate for the shortages, he's been running listening tests to find a replacement. He has tested eight guitar bodies made of alternative lightweight woods."Ash is still the best sounding to my ears," Sadowsky said. "What we're trying to do is find the runner-ups as alternatives to swamp ash."The leading contender so far is eastern white pine, another tree native to North America that primarily grows in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes. Sadowsky said the white pine is best after it has been torrefied, a roasting process that emulates decades of natural aging.<div type="image" title="Fender Telecaster made of Ash during Sanding by Fender" height="2649" width="3532" msid="82233966" hostid="261"></div><h2>A new sound</h2>Fender has also employed a torrefaction process with pine as a replacement for ash. Norvell said it has been very well-received, though there's still a "wistfulness and nostalgia" for swamp ash.According to the guitar-maker Marchione, musicians are extremely conservative when it comes to their instruments. "People are still trying to recreate what guitarists like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix did," Norvell said. "Those guys had plenty of swamp ash."But Born said the deep love for the storied wood could, in some ways, be a chicken-and-egg scenario, rather than there being an inherent magic in the wood."I think it's more that rock 'n' roll grew up with that as being the sound, so that wood became the tone that people like to hear," he said. "It could've been something else and that wood might have had the same kind of myth to it."Regardless of the reasons, swamp ash is woven into Fender's DNA, and the history of electric guitars in general. But Norvell said now it's about finding the next generation of woods."The guitar continues to adapt and adjust, and the music people make changes. Everything changes over time," he said."For us, now it's about finding new voices and new tones and new woods."Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at <a href="mailto:kvlamis@insider.com">kvlamis@insider.com</a>.

A tiny, invasive bug and the climate crisis are changing how guitars are made, and shifting the course of music history

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="909846" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="New-England-Patriots">New England Patriots</keyword> rookie Dustin Woodard is walking away from the gridiron before playing a single snap in the <keyword id="103436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFL">NFL</keyword>.</li><li>Before he was <keyword id="1745518" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bill-Belichick">Bill Belichick</keyword>'s seventh-round pick, Woodard enjoyed a standout career in his four years as an offensive lineman for the <keyword id="1754690" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Memphis-Tigers">Memphis Tigers</keyword>.</li><li>Woodard stood to make over $700,000 this season and $3.4 million over the next four years.</li></ul>Bill Belichick has lost yet another weapon from his arsenal for the upcoming NFL season.New England Patriots rookie Dustin Woodard has decided to walk away from the gridiron. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, who first reported the news, the offensive lineman's choice to move on from <keyword id="64" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Football">football</keyword> is unrelated to the COVID-19 crisis.Belichick selected Woodard — a four-year starter for the Memphis Tigers — with his seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound offensive lineman spent his first three seasons playing guard under head coach Mike Norvell. After his junior season, Woodard native was the top-ranked guard in the conference.<div type="image" title="dustin woodard patriots" height="1446" width="1929" msid="77550967" hostid="261"></div>But along with Memphis' head coaching change, the Chandler, Arizona, native was tasked with shifting to center in his final year of eligibility for the Tigers. Even in his first full year in a new position, Woodard enjoyed a standout season and quickly became one of the highest-rated centers in college football.Woodard stood to make more than $700,000 in his first year with the new-look Patriots. He gives up $3.4 million over the next four years by stepping away from the game before playing a single snap in the NFL.The offensive lineman is just the latest in a series of blows to Belichick's roster for the upcoming season. According to <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/patriots-rookie-retires-just-months-after-being-drafted-by-bill-belichick-per-report/">CBS Sports</a>, eight of New England's players — Brandon Bolden, Marcus Cannon, Patrick Chung, Dont'a Hightower, Matt LaCosse, Marqise Lee, Najee Toran, and Danny Vitale — opted out of joining the team for the year prior to the NFL's deadline.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/2020-college-football-season-canceled-big-ten-pac-12-2020-8">Pac-12 and Big Ten are first major conferences to call off college football season and other fall sports</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/ben-sasse-big-ten-college-football-letter-2020-8">Senator Ben Sasse wrote a letter to Big Ten presidents arguing that the college football season should be played because 'life is about tradeoffs'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/ranked-athletes-per-minute-earnings-salary-2020-list-2020-8">The 55 athletes who make the most money per minute, ranked</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/us-olympians-2020-tokyo-olympics-postponement-reactions-2020-8">Shock, disappointment, anxiety, relief: As the original 2020 Olympics dates pass, Team USA's top competitors reveal how they're coping with the year-long delay</a></li></ul>

A Patriots rookie is retiring a month after the draft, giving up a $3.4 million contract before playing a single snap

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In an unprecedented move, <keyword id="95021" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NASCAR">NASCAR</keyword> has banned confederate flags from all of its races.</li><li>The league has a long history of condoning and, at times, outright supporting the flying of the outdated, racist symbol that serves as a relic of the United States' original sin.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1270819350644211719">NASCAR's official statement</a> explained that the presence of the flag "runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors, and our industry."</li><li>Some fans have <a href="https://www.change.org/p/fans-of-nascar-racing-boycott-nascar">already vowed to boycott the league</a> over its stance on this issue and others relating to race in America.</li></ul>NASCAR is taking unprecedented measures in its efforts to support recent racial equality and social justice movements.The premier stock <keyword id="6360432" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="RACING">racing</keyword> league will ban the presence of the <keyword id="2913768" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Confederate-flag">confederate flag</keyword> at all of its races, bucking its long history of condoning and, at times, outright supporting the flying of the outdated, racist symbol that serves as a relic of the United States' original sin.<div type="image" title="FILE - In this July 4, 2015, file photo, confederate and American flags fly on top of motor homes at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Bubba Wallace, the only African-American driver in the top tier of NASCAR, calls for a ban on the Confederate flag in the sport that is deeply rooted in the South. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)" height="2735" width="3647" msid="76311810" hostid="261"></div>In an official statement shared on NASCAR's Twitter account Wednesday, the league said that the presence of the flag "runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors, and our industry.""The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties," NASCAR added.The move comes as Americans grapple with <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">the death of George Floyd</a> — a black man who was killed by Minneapolis police officers after they kneeled on his neck during his arrest for allegedly using a fake $20 bill. Floyd's killing has incited protests in cities across the nation and prompted conversations about race relations in America in nearly every industry — including the world of <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>.NASCAR has deep Southern roots and, arguably, more to reckon with on this front than other domestic sports leagues. The Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway — one of the most prominent races on the circuit — was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/sports/autoracing/confederate-flags-crash-nascars-plan-for-a-homecoming.html">once an ode to the confederacy</a>. And even though the league attempted to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/nascar-will-offer-to-swap-confederate-flag-at-daytonanot-ban-it-1435785967">dissuade fans from flying the flag</a> by offering to swap it out at Daytona, arguably its most famous race, NASCAR officials had stopped short of an outright ban up until this point.Some NASCAR fans have <a href="https://www.change.org/p/fans-of-nascar-racing-boycott-nascar">already vowed to boycott the league</a> over its most recent stance on the confederate flag and others relating to race in America. Many of the racing body's supporters believe NASCAR should refrain from political gestures of any variety, and some have taken to the internet to voice that opinion.Others applauded the league's stance:Read more:<ul class="read-more-links"><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/us-soccer-considers-repealing-rapinoe-inspired-anthem-kneeling-ban-2020-6">US Soccer is considering repealing its ban on kneeling during the national anthem, setting the stage for another showdown between Trump and Megan Rapinoe</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/san-francisco-49ers-blackout-tuesday-post-colin-kaepernick-hypocrisy-2020-6">The San Francisco 49ers participated in #BlackoutTuesday and fans are calling it hypocrisy after the treatment of Colin Kaepernick</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-coco-gauff-speech-local-peaceful-protest-calls-for-action-2020-6">Coco Gauff delivered an impassioned speech at her local Black Lives Matter peaceful protest: 'If you are choosing silence, you are choosing the side of the oppressor'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/fsu-mike-norvell-apology-george-floyd-player-conversation-lie-2020-6">Florida State head coach Mike Norvell apologized after his own players called him out for lying about George Floyd conversations, avoiding a potential player walk-out</a></li></ul>

NASCAR bans the Confederate flag from all races in their latest move to support racial equality and social justice

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US <keyword id="3071" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Soccer">Soccer</keyword> Federation is considering repealing a ban on <keyword id="3738134" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="kneeling">kneeling</keyword> during the national anthem in light of recent protests over the death of George Floyd.</li><li>The governing body for the US men's and women's national teams instituted the ban in 2017 after <keyword id="9096091" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uswnt">USWNT</keyword> star <keyword id="2890306" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Megan-Rapinoe">Megan Rapinoe</keyword> kneeled in solidarity with then-NFL quarterback <keyword id="1548486" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Colin-Kaepernick">Colin Kaepernick</keyword>.</li><li>The USSF board will meet Tuesday and likely take a formal vote on the matter Friday, <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-usa/story/4107737/sources-us-soccer-to-consider-repealing-ban-on-players-kneeling">per ESPN</a>. </li></ul>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 <keyword id="6359715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="protest">protest</keyword> as well.<div type="image" title="megan rapinoe kneeling" height="1794" width="2392" msid="76272648" hostid="261"></div>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 <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">Floyd — an unarmed black man — died after </a><a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and others </a><a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">kneeled on his neck and back for more than eight minutes</a>.Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, while the three other officers on the scene were charged with aiding and abetting murder.<div type="image" title="colin kaepernick" height="1235" width="1647" msid="76272653" hostid="261"></div>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.<div type="image" title="USWNT ticker tape parade" height="3264" width="4352" msid="76272655" hostid="261"></div>Though its unclear which way the board will lean, <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-usa/story/4107737/sources-us-soccer-to-consider-repealing-ban-on-players-kneeling">ESPN's Jeff Carlisle reports</a> that Parlow Cone "received enough support from board members to be optimistic as to the possibility of repeal."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-lebron-james-slams-laura-ingraham-drew-brees-comments-2020-6">LeBron James blasts Fox News host Laura Ingraham for double-standard on which athletes she believes can speak out on politics</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/fsu-mike-norvell-apology-george-floyd-player-conversation-lie-2020-6"></a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/fsu-mike-norvell-apology-george-floyd-player-conversation-lie-2020-6">Florida State head coach Mike Norvell apologized after his own players called him out for lying about George Floyd conversations, avoiding a potential player walk-out</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-coco-gauff-speech-local-peaceful-protest-calls-for-action-2020-6">Coco Gauff delivered an impassioned speech at her local Black Lives Matter peaceful protest: 'If you are choosing silence, you are choosing the side of the oppressor'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/professional-athletes-who-identify-as-lgbtq-and-proud-2020-5">51 athletes who are out and proud members of the LGBTQ+ community</a></li></ul>

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

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="865621" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Seattle-Seahawks">Seattle Seahawks</keyword> head coach <keyword id="3046900" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pete-Carroll">Pete Carroll</keyword> regrets not signing <keyword id="1548486" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Colin-Kaepernick">Colin Kaepernick</keyword> back in 2017.</li><li>Carroll said he didn't feel the Seahawks were the "right fit" for Kaepernick at the time because Carroll "didn't see [Kaepernick] as a backup quarterback" and the team already had Pro Bowler Russell Wilson.</li><li>"The fact that it didn't work out for us, I figured he was going to wind up starting somewhere for sure, and it just didn't happen," Carroll added.</li><li>The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and outspoken activist was blackballed from the league after <keyword id="3738134" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="kneeling">kneeling</keyword> during the national anthem as a form of <keyword id="6359715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="protest">protest</keyword> against police brutality in the United States.</li></ul>The death of George Floyd and our collective reckoning with race relations in America has shined a new light on Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protests back in 2016.And at least one prominent <keyword id="103436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFL">NFL</keyword> coach regrets not signing the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback when he had the chance.<div type="image" title="FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality, racial injustice and social inequality, he was vilified by people who considered it an offense against the country, the flag and the military. Nearly four years later, it seems more people are starting to side with Kaepernick’s peaceful protest and now are calling out those who don’t understand the intent behind his action. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)" height="4408" width="2939" msid="76345604" hostid="261"></div>In a video conference on Thursday, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll admitted that, in hindsight, he wishes he and his team had added Kaepernick into their ranks when they had a visit in 2017."I regret that we weren't the one way back when that just did it just to do it," Carroll said. "Even though I thought that it wasn't the right fit necessarily for us at the time.""I wish we would have contributed to it because the guy deserved to play," he added.The 11-year Seattle head coach further explained that while he greatly admired Kaepernick's abilities, he expected his former division rival to compete for a starting role at quarterback. Since the Seahawks already had seven-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson under center, Carroll figured there were better landing spots for Kaepernick out there."It wasn't going to be the open competitive situation that I like to think all of our spots are because Russ was such a dominant figure," Carroll said."I held [Kaepernick] in such a high regard I didn't see him as a backup quarterback, and I didn't want to put him in that situation with Russ," Carroll said. "It just didn't feel like it would fit right. That's the way I felt about it. So I just wish it would happen, and I wish we would have been a part of it when the time was available then.""The fact that it didn't work out for us, I figured he was going to wind up starting somewhere for sure," Carroll added. "And it just didn't happen."<div type="image" title="carroll.JPG" height="1667" width="2222" msid="76345610" hostid="261"></div>Of course, Kaepernick famously — and quite controversially — did not wind up with another team. The quarterback kneeled in protest of police brutality during the playing of the national anthem before NFL games when he played for the 49ers. Naysayers widely interpreted the gesture as a rejection of the American flag and an offense to military members. Still, Kaepernick repeatedly said he kneeled to shine a light on the disproportionate killings of unarmed black men by white police officers across the country.Still, Kaepernick became an incredibly divisive figure and even drew the ire of President Donald Trump. NFL franchises — many of which are owned by Trump supporters and donors — were reluctant to sign the quarterback as a result. He and former teammate Eric Reid — who also kneeled during the anthem — <a href="https://www.insider.com/colin-kaepernick-collusion-settlement-less-10-million-2019-3">settled with the league</a> after suing for collusion. Kaepernick has not played in the league since.<div type="image" title="colin kaepernick" height="1235" width="1647" msid="76345615" hostid="261"></div>"He was right on it," Carroll said Thursday. "He was right on the topics about police brutality and inequality, and he was right on the subject matter at the time. That's so obvious now where maybe all of the flak that flew about not honoring the flag and all the other things that were not even a part of the demonstration or what his intent was at all, that just skewed the whole discussion, I don't think that's around now. It's different at this time frame."<div type="image" title="Colin Kaepernick" height="738" width="984" msid="76345617" hostid="261"></div>Carroll was presumably referring to the all-consuming reaction to the death of Floyd late last month. Protests have cropped up across the country since, helping the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/10/upshot/black-lives-matter-attitudes.html">Black Lives Matter movement gain momentum</a> to a level never before seen in the United States. Floyd's death has had ripple effects in the world of <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> and has served as a moment of reflection — and regret — regarding Kaepernick's treatment in the NFL.<div type="image" title="pete carroll.JPG" height="1667" width="2222" msid="76345622" hostid="261"></div>When it comes to Kaepernick potentially returning to the league once and for all, Carroll said he thinks there's some momentum working in the quarterback's favor."After all of the time, the years that have passed, I never received a phone call about it," Carroll said. "I never talked to another head coach about it. I never talked to anyone about it until today. I got a phone call today. I won't tell you who it was, but I got a phone call today asking inquiring about the situation, so I know somebody is interested. So we'll see what happens with that."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/san-francisco-49ers-blackout-tuesday-post-colin-kaepernick-hypocrisy-2020-6">The San Francisco 49ers participated in #BlackoutTuesday and fans are calling it hypocrisy after the treatment of Colin Kaepernick</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/drew-brees-nfl-players-kneeling-disrespecting-the-flag-united-states-2020-6">Drew Brees on NFL players kneeling next season: 'I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/fsu-mike-norvell-apology-george-floyd-player-conversation-lie-2020-6">Florida State head coach Mike Norvell apologized after his own players called him out for lying about George Floyd conversations, avoiding a potential player walk-out</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/deandre-hopkins-deshaun-watson-john-c-calhoun-clemson-name-change-2020-6">NFL stars DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson have joined the call to remove a former US Vice President's name from Clemson's campus</a></li></ul>

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