COLOMBIA, SC – Ten South Carolina No. 1 players remained seated during the national anthem before the 119-38 victory over the College of Charleston on Wednesday.
Only junior striker Elysa Wesolek stood up during the hymn. Coach Dawn Staley and her team also stood up.
The team tweeted a statement saying that many of them did not support “shedding light on the need for racial equality, social justice and an end to systemic racism in our country”.
What matters. pic.twitter.com/Vv9lBTRZxo
– GamecockWBB (@GamecockWBB) November 25, 2020
The statement acknowledged that players understood that not everyone would agree with what they did, “but we ask that everyone respect our right” to make their own choices, he said.
There was no reaction from the small crowd at Colonial Life Arena after the hymn. Only 3,500 people were allowed inside the 18,000-seat arena.
The win was the best display of all Gamecocks under Staley, won last year in a 112-32 victory over SC Upstate. Victaria Saxton had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Zia Cooke scored 18 points in South Carolina’s tenth consecutive victory in the series.