A United States Armed Forces swearing-in ceremony at Wednesday’s game between the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage drew boos from fans at Providence Park after enlistees were asked to pledge to obey the orders of President Donald Trump.
The Thorns scheduled the ceremony ahead of the 2019 season when they found out that they would be playing on the anniversary of 9/11.
A group of enlistees came onto the field at halftime Wednesday to take the Oath of Enlistment in front of the crowd of 17,517 at Providence Park. Similar ceremonies have taken place at sporting events across the country for years, and several MLS teams have hosted similar events this season in conjunction with military appreciation nights.
The crowd applauded the enlistees after they completed their Oath of Enlistment, but boos filled the stadium when the enlistees were asked to pledge that they would “obey the orders of the President of the United States."
The full oath that the enlistees recited is: “I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
The ceremony came against the backdrop of Major League Soccer facing backlash from fans for changing its Fan Code of Conduct to ban political signage and displays at games. Though the National Women’s Soccer League does not have a fan code of conduct, the Timbers and Thorns organization has enforced the MLS ban on political signage at Thorns games this season as well.
“All of our operational staff for Providence Park games are the same,” the organization said in a statement in August. “Having different rules for different teams creates confusion among staff and for fans alike. We also believe that what is allowed, for those wishing to trumpet opposition to fascism at MLS games, is also a fair and reasonable approach for Thorns and T2 games.”
Some fans said on social media Wednesday night that a military swearing-in event was inherently political and criticized the Timbers and Thorns organization for hosting the ceremony when the MLS Fan Code of Conduct still bans political signage at games.
Among the specific signage that is barred by MLS’s fan code of conduct is the “Iron Front” symbol, an emblem with three arrows pointing downward which was first used by an anti-Nazi paramilitary organization in Germany in the 1930s. Fans say that the Iron Front symbol is not political because it represents an opposition to fascism and oppression, which are issues of human rights. MLS is concerned that the symbol has been adopted by the antifa movement, a loose affiliation of activists whose protests against fascism and racism have sometimes turned violent.
Thorns fans unveiled a small banner ahead of Wednesday’s game with an Iron Front design that had the words “anti-homophobia,” “anti-racism” and “anti-fascism” taking the place of the three arrows. There were several other banners on the wall in the north end of Providence Park on Wednesday that included similar Iron Front-like imagery.
Representatives from Major League Soccer will meet with the Independent Supporters Council and supporters’ groups for the Timbers and Seattle Sounders on Sept. 19 to discuss the MLS Fan Code of Conduct and the ban on political signage at games.
-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com
503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg
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