USWNT member Rapinoe kneels during anthem in 'nod to Kaepernick'

Women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe showed solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick by kneeling during the national anthem of Sunday's NSWL game between the Seattle Reign and Chicago Red Stars.

Rapinoe told American Soccer Now her display was "a little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he's standing for right now."

She later tweeted about her actions, saying it was the least she could do.

"I am disgusted with the way he has been treated and the fans and hatred he has received in all of this," Rapinoe told espnW's Julie Foudy. "It is overtly racist. 'Stay in your place, black man.' Just didn't feel right to me. We need a more substantive conversation around race relations and the way people of color are treated."

She added: "Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties. It was something small that I could do and something that I plan to keep doing in the future and hopefully spark some meaningful conversation around it. It's important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this. We don't need to be the leading voice, of course, but standing in support of them is something that's really powerful."

Kaepernick has sat during the national anthem during the preseason and knelt for the 49ers final exhibition game along with teammate Eric Reid. He's protesting the treatment of people of color in America and, specifically, police brutality in African American communities.