We ask the @NWSL to stop playing the national anthem during matches.

As we’ve seen in the last couple of days, players are being exploited by the media, political extremists and others with an agenda.

Players are left unable to defend themselves with limited access to their own NWSL media partners, causing things to spiral in whatever direction anyone sees fit.

Even within our own league, we saw how the photo of Julie Ertz and Casey Short was used casually, giving little regard to the trauma Short may have endured. This doesn’t even dive into the racist origins of the song or the history of how sports began playing the national anthem.

The screenshots and photos taken from the match are now fodder for the likes of right-wing conspiracy theorists and political ammunition for extremists.

Any meaningful conversations players may have had are now reduced to memification, allowing for misrepresentation against the consent of the players.

There are still more meaningful conversations to be had about the mistreatment of black lives in this country.

The national anthem, however, has become a distraction. Other countries avoid this distraction entirely by not playing their national anthems before games; Premier League clubs do not play God Save the Queen before matches,

and UEFA Champions League matches feature their own anthem and do not play any national anthems. Let’s follow the lead of these competitions and allow the league, it’s employees, athletes and fans to dispense of distractions and dig deeper so we can work towards long-term change.