TCU, UT soccer players kneel during national anthem of TCU’s first fall sporting event
TCU goalkeeper Emily Alvarado wanted to show support for her Black teammates and the Black community facing racial injustices in the country.
That’s why she, along with 16 other players from the TCU and Texas women’s soccer teams, took a knee during the national anthem on Friday night.
“We’ve had a lot of really good conversations as a team,” Alvarado said. “A lot of my teammates and my head coach Eric Bell have shared their experiences and that has really opened our eyes, especially my eyes, to the issues they face in their everyday life.
“For me, it really hit close to home. I know it did for a lot of my teammates, too, so we wanted a way to use our platform to be able to show that we’re unified with the Black community and that we won’t stand for the injustices they are facing.”
It marked the first sporting event on TCU’s campus in which players have knelt during the anthem. The Horned Frogs had several soccer players take a knee during the anthem for the season opener at Baylor on Sept. 11 in Waco.
Friday was the first sporting event on TCU’s campus since the coronavirus pandemic shut the sports world down in mid-March. It also was the first event following a summer in which the country endured a racial reawakening amid the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds during an arrest.
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati supported the soccer players decision to kneel. The school has encouraged students to use their voices to speak out on injustices. Just last month, TCU football player Kellton Hollins organized a plan to paint “End Racism” on the sidewalk outside Schollmaier Arena.
“I stand by our student-athletes,” Donati said. “I know this is an issue they are passionate about, and I am proud they have come together as a team to use their platform in a thoughtful manner.”
TCU’s soccer coaches wore “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts during pregame warmups, and the near sideline had ‘End Racism’ painted on it.
There was also a moment of reflection before the game in which both teams took a unified knee. Then the national anthem was played with a number of players remaining kneeled.
“I support them,” Bell said. “We’ve had conversations as a group. Whether you kneel or not, we’re still together. We still support each other. Obviously we believe in different things and that’s OK. We respect those differences, but we do respect the people who want to silently protest and do it in a classy way.”
The crowd on hand didn’t have a noticeable reaction to the protest. TCU limited attendance to those on a guest list from the schools, as well as approximately 75 students at the 1,500-seat Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
TCU had seven starters take a knee, including Alvarado, Chaylyn Hubbard, Yazmeen Ryan, Marz Akins, Michelle Slater, Brandi Peterson and Grace Collins. Five players on the bench also knelt.
Texas starters Mackenzie McFarland and Jennessa Groves, as well as three players on the bench, knelt during the anthem.
TCU had eight of the 11 starters take a knee during the season opener at Baylor on Sept. 11.
TCU went on to a 3-0 victory over Texas. TCU is at Kansas State next Friday before returning home for a game against Iowa State on Oct. 2.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 11:14 PM.
