Alabama Crimson Tide: Soccer team shows bravery while kneeling

Alabama Crimson Tide fans should be proud of their soccer team.

For the first time since March, the Alabama Crimson Tide got to see one of their teams play in a sporting event. The first game of the 2020 season was for Alabama soccer as they played against Tennessee. Alabama emerged victorious against the Vols, but something bigger happened in this game.

About five members of the Alabama soccer team took a knee in the name of racial justice during the national anthem. The moment was filmed by William Galloway, and he posted the video on his Twitter. 

One of those who took a knee was Taylor Morgan, a senior midfielder. After the game, she released a statement explaining her reasoning. She detailed that she has family members in the military and that she was taking a knee for them. Morgan added that the work needs to be done in the name of systemic racism, but change is coming.

Every athlete has the right to make their own decision about what they do during the anthem, but this act by Morgan and some of her teammates was brave, to say the least. In the state of Alabama, the act of kneeling has been turned into a divisive topic that has taken away from its true meaning. Morgan and her teammates knew that this would cause foul comments by some Alabama Crimson Tide fans,

She knew that typo-riddled comments like these would come from all corners of social media, but she also knew that it was worth it. As a student-athlete with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Taylor Morgan has a public platform viewed by countless fans. She also knows that her voice carries more weight due to her status as a student-athlete. She is taking that voice and speaking up for a dire cause, and that shows her strength and bravery.

The reactions were certainly a mix of support and criticism, but one cool moment came from her statement. Megan Rapinoe quoted Morgan’s tweet and told her to “keep doing the right thing.” Having one of the greatest players in your sport personally tell you that you’re doing the right thing has to be excellent motivation for Taylor Morgan, even if she didn’t need it.

This is not the only thing Alabama soccer has done in the name of racial justice. As Alabama football players marched onto campus a few weeks ago, the soccer team was right by them. Although I expect the football team to do something for their season opener, they have stayed in the locker room during the anthem in the past. If they would like to protest, they will likely have to do something outside of the national anthem.

What this boils down to is a tremendous act of bravery in the name of something greater than oneself. Taylor Morgan and her teammates might receive backlash for kneeling during the national anthem, but they deserve respect for standing up for what they believe in.