Megan Rapinoe (Photo by Erica McCaulley)

United States women’s national team midfielder Megan Rapinoe penned an essay for The Players’ Tribune explaining why she took a knee during the National Anthem against racial inequality and police brutality.

“I have chosen to kneel because in the time it has taken me to write this article, many more Americans have been lost to senseless violence,” Rapinoe writes in the essay titled “Why I Am Kneeling.” “I have chosen to kneel because not two miles from my hotel in Columbus, Ohio, on the night before our USWNT match against Thailand, a 13-year-old boy named Tyre King was fatally shot by a police officer. I have chosen to kneel because I simply cannot stand for the kind of oppression this country is allowing against its own people. I have chosen to kneel because, in the words of Emma Lazarus, ‘Until we are all free, we are none of us free.'”

The soccer star began kneeling in support of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick who chose to sit or kneel during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality during the NFL preseason and regular season games.

Rapinoe first protested before the National Anthem at the Sept. 4 National Women’s Soccer League between the Seattle Reign FC and Chicago Red Stars and also knelt during a Sept. 15 game against Thailand. She continued on that she thinks kneeling does not disrespect the American flag but quite the opposite.

“I can understand if you think that I’m disrespecting the flag by kneeling, but it is because of my utmost respect for the flag and the promise it represents that I have chosen to demonstrate in this way,” Rapinoe wrote. “When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country’s ultimate symbol of freedom — because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country.”