I was disappointed to see that the U.S. women’s soccer team lost their World Cup match to Sweden; however, I was even more disappointed by the headlines I saw in the news immediately following the defeat. According to The New York Times, “Trump Cheer[ed] the Defeat of Rapinoe and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team,” blaming the loss on Joe Biden.

“The USA is going to Hell,” Trump claimed.

Megyn Kelly said, “I’m glad you went down.” Many other conservatives reacted this way also, expressing resentment instead of pride in their team. The usual pundits went on rants about wokeness.

Much of the controversy stemmed from the fact that the U.S. women’s team players have all been “activists,” fighting for equal rights and equal pay.

While I wouldn’t personally take a knee during the national anthem, I think that openly rooting for your own team to lose just makes the situation even worse. Instead of taking pride in the team and using sports as a symbol of unity, the conservative critics chose to create more division.

My feeling is that while we might not agree on all social issues, we should at least be able to support our team—after all, it is “Team USA,” not “Team Liberal.”

Also, last I checked, the women’s team had a much better win record than the men’s team, but the men’s team certainly doesn’t receive the same treatment. Regardless, a group of political figures has left a stain on a great legacy.