There were a few boos when Dallas FC and Nashville SC players took a knee together during the national anthem ahead of their Major League Soccer game in Frisco, Texas on Wednesday.
Dallas defender Reggie Cannon said he was disgusted by the boos at Toyota Stadium as players and officials kneeled to highlight racial injustices. He said teammate Ryan Hollingshead reached out to him afterward and apologized.
– How Dallas and Nashville prepared for the remainder of the 2020 season
– – Stream FC Daily on ESPN +
“You can’t even have support from your own fans in your own stadium,” said Cannon. “It’s confusing to me.
“As a team, we’re trying to deliver the best possible product in the field, and these last six months have been absolute hell for us. Absolute hell.”
Dallas and Nashville hadn’t played a game since the season was suspended on March 12 due to the coronavirus. While other teams played in the MLS is Back tournament in Florida last month, Dallas and Nashville had to pull out before the start due to positive COVID-19 tests on players on both teams.
The teams met when MLS restarted the regular season in local markets. Some of the games will include fans if local jurisdiction allows. A little over 5,000 were allowed to attend the game at Toyota Stadium, although the crowd that showed up seemed smaller.
Nashville won the game 1-0. The two teams will meet again on Sunday.
The death of George Floyd has prompted a number of MLS players to form the group Black Players for Change, which addresses systemic racism in football and society.
At the opening game of the MLS tournament in Florida, the members of the group stood in silence with their fists raised for more than eight minutes. Players and coaches wore Black Lives Matter t-shirts throughout the event.
Eight minutes, 46 seconds is how long prosecutors say Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was pinned to the floor under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer before he died. Players and coaches wore Black Lives Matter t-shirts throughout the event.
The anthem was not played until the tournament was played. Cannon said the players asked that it not be played before the game because they did not think it was right “for the anthem to be played at this moment”.
“We had someone singing USA, but he doesn’t understand what kneeling means,” added Cannon. “You don’t understand why we kneel.
They think we are the ignorant. “It’s incredibly frustrating. I’m sorry to have that tone, but you have to call it what it is. “
Cannon said he expected a negative setback from the uniform response.
“It hurts because I love our fans, I love this club and I want to see the support that the league has given us, that all of our fans have given us,” he said.
.
