After players on the U.S. women’s soccer team kneeled in support of Black Lives Matter before their game opener at the Tokyo Olympics Wednesday morning, the ladies were crushed by Sweden in a 3-0 loss.
The loss breaks a 44-game winning streak for the U.S. While The International Olympic Committee (IOC) previously banned protests at the games, there was a shift in rules that permitted the players to engage in activism. The IOC still bans its social media personnel from posting any content of such activism on its official accounts, but teams and media captured and shared the moment.
Team USA entered the games as the number one ranked team in the world, whereas Sweden sat at number five. This is not the first time Sweden handed the Americans a loss. In 2016, Team USA lost in the quarterfinals to the women on penalty kicks.