Megan Rapinoe plays for the U.S. women’s national soccer team, and a few weeks ago she was front and center in the condemnation of teammate Hope Solo.

Solo, the veteran goalkeeper, whose description of the Swedish performance in a shootout victory over the U.S. in the Rio 2016 quarterfinals as “cowardly”, was strongly criticized by Rapinoe.

Rapinoe said she was “really disappointed, to be honest”, in Solo calling the Swedes cowards, adding: “That’s not our team, that’s not what this team has always been, that’s not what this team will be in the future.”

And a few weeks later?

Rapinoe piggybacked onto the Colin Kaepernick “take a knee” campaign, refusing to stand for the national anthem ahead of a women’s soccer club game. Using her right of free speech, that is.

Which leaves Rapinoe in the awkward position of condemning a teammate for speaking her mind … and then turning around and diving into a far more ticklish matter by refusing to stand for the playing of the U.S. national anthem.

Rapinoe’s team, the Seattle Reign, played the Washington Spirit in D.C. tonight, and the host team played the anthem while the teams were in the lockerrooms, spoiling Rapinoe’s announced plan to not stand for the anthem again while in view of fans.

Which infuriated Rapinoe. After the match, she said: “It’s [expletive] unbelievable. Saddened by it.”

The process left Rapinoe looking like a hypocrite for criticizing Solo for the goalkeeper exercising her right as an American to speak her mind … and then insisting on her own right to take a knee during the anthem.

Which is it going to be? Is some free speech freer than other free speech?

Rapinoe criticized the owner of the Washington club, Bill Lynch, who said: “While we respect every individual’s right to express themselves, and believe Ms. Rapinoe to be an amazing individual with a huge heart, we respectfully disagree with her method of hijacking our organization’s event to draw attention to what is ultimately a personal — albeit worthy — cause.”

Rapinoe also said: “It was incredibly distasteful, four days before one of the worst tragedies [the September 11 terror attacks] in our country, to say that I tried to hijack this event. … It’s just really disappointing and disrespectful.”

Interesting, what she finds disrespectful.

If anthem-statements are going to become a “thing”, with more copycat kneelers during the anthem, I would again like to offer my solution:

Do not play the anthem before sports events. It isn’t necessary, and it can lead to bad feelings — in all sorts of directions, and for reasons ranging from the overtly political to poor musical performances.

This may become something the various sports leagues will want to address in a coherent, standardized fashion.

My preference, again … bring out the players, introduce them, let them play.