A large segment of fans booed as a group of U.S. Armed Forces enlistees was sworn-in on the 18th anniversary of 9/11 this week, at a ceremony that took place at a National Women’s Soccer League game in Oregon.
The fans were quiet and respectful for much of the oath, until the enlistees had to swear to “obey the orders of the president of the United States.” At that point, a large number of fans began booing. After several moments, the booing faded and the crowd cheered the enlistees at the end of the swearing-in.
The NWSL game featured the Portland Thorns and the North Carolina Courage. Notably, the contest also took place in Portland, Oregon, a hot spot for violent Antifa activists and other far-left groups. Controversy has also found its way into the soccer stadium itself.
At the outset of the 2019 season, Major League Soccer issued a ban on political signage. That bad technically only impacts games for Portland’s MLS team, the Timbers. However, the Timbers have also enforced that ban at Thorns games as well. The ban has not gone over well with Thorns fan groups who have protested the outlawing of political signage.
“All of our operational staff for Providence Park games are the same,” the Timbers organization said in August. “Having different rules for different teams creates confusion among staff and for fans alike. We also believe that what is allowed, for those wishing to trumpet opposition to fascism at MLS games, is also a fair and reasonable approach for Thorns and T2 games.”
According to Oregon Live, “The Thorns scheduled the ceremony ahead of the 2019 season when they found out that they would be playing on the anniversary of 9/11.”
Several U.S. women’s National Team players with extremely critical views of President Trump, such as Megan Rapinoe, either have played or still play in the NWSL.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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