Vanney ‘would be supportive’ if TFC players choose to kneel

Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney (Julie Jacobson/CP)

TORONTO – There’s been no talk amongst Toronto FC players and staff about the possibility of boycotting or taking a knee during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner.

But even though the topic hasn’t yet been brought up, it doesn’t mean it won’t be discussed before Saturday’s home game against the New York Red Bulls at BMO Field. And if individual players decide to take a knee during the U.S. national anthem, coach Greg Vanney wouldn’t have an issue with it.

“In our group, we have not had an open discussion [about] that. I can’t say that [the discussion] won’t take place. It just hasn’t taken place,” Vanney told reporters after Wednesday’s training session.

“I would support any of the players who if they came to me and said that was what they were thinking, or the reason why [they were considering taking a knee]. I would be supportive of it.”

The practise of kneeling during the U.S. national anthem was started last year by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to protest racial inequality and what he felt was police brutality faced by African-Americans in the U.S.

Other athletes across a number of different sports and leagues followed suit, but it has become more widespread in recent weeks in the NFL, and it gained major momentum this past weekend after comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump. Speaking at a rally in Alabama, Trump called any NFL player who would kneel for the anthem a “son of a bitch,” and suggested that NFL owners should fire any player who takes a knee.

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Vanney disagrees with Trump’s view.

“I find it ironic because he’s on his job when he is calling people names and saying they should be fired; he’s actually at work when he’s doing that. For me, there’s a little bit of irony in that,” Vanney said.

TFC’s coach also doesn’t agree with Trump’s view that to protest the anthem of the flag is unpatriotic or disrespectful.

“The flag and the anthem are symbols of what the country is supposed to stand for, which are these freedoms and these equal rights. One of those freedoms is to peacefully protest. People have the right to choose the way they want to protest, so long as it’s peaceful and doesn’t hurt anybody else,” Vanney stated.

“The flag is a symbol of all of those rights … and what people go to war for. To me, they don’t go to war for the flag – they go to war for what the flag stands for and what it symbolizes. The flag symbolizes those things that people are protesting because they feel they are not equal and those rights have not been granted to everybody else.”

A native of Arizona who made 37 appearances for the U.S. national team during his playing career, Vanney believes that the message behind the protests may be getting lost amidst all of the furor and chatter over the actual form of the protests.

“For me what’s important is to not get caught up in the protest of the anthem or the protest itself, but [rather] what the guys who are protesting are protesting about. So much of the discussion has [been about] the protests when the fact of the matter is that social equality and equal rights and justice for everyone, that is the social issue that they’re trying to raise,” Vanney offered.

“It’s a fair thing [to do]. It’s just not race. There’s other social inequalities that people are trying to raise attention to.”

To date, no MLS players have taken a knee during the anthem at a league match. MLS released a statement this week that suggested it wouldn’t take action against any player who takes a knee during the national anthem.

“The march of players, officials and children into our stadiums and singing of the anthem has been a pre-match tradition since our first game in 1996,” the league said. “The National Anthem provides our clubs and fans an important and time-honoured opportunity to salute our country and stand up for its principles – whether in the United States or in Canada.

“At the same time, freedom of speech – and the right to peaceful protest – are the hallmarks of both countries. Though we encourage our players to stand during the national anthem, we respect and support their right to express their personal beliefs.”

The MLS Players Union also released a statement defending the rights of players to “exercise their Constitutional rights.”

“All players have every right to exercise their Constitutional rights, and we will do everything in our power to defend those rights when they are challenged,” read a portion of the statement. “It is our deepest hope that the solidarity exhibited by professional athletes throughout North America can serve to encourage a more tolerant and less divisive society.”

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