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FACT BRIEF

Did the US women’s soccer team turn their back on a WWII vet playing the national anthem on a harmonica?

By Alexis Tereszcuk
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NO

Most members of the team had turned to face the American flag, a tradition during the national anthem, while a few faced forward as the song was played before a game on July 5, 2021.

Contrary to social media posts that criticized team members who were not turned toward Pete DuPré, 98, while he played "The Star Spangled Banner," none turned their backs on DuPré.

Neil Buethe, chief communications officer for U.S. Soccer, called the claims and criticism "100 percent false.

"Some players were simply looking at the flag ... in one end of the stadium. The players have known Pete since 2019, have a deep respect for him (and) his military service."

Responding to online critics, player Carli Lloyd tweeted: "We turned because we faced the flag."

According to military.com, it is protocol for nonmilitary persons to face the flag during the national anthem.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Military.com Rules for Saluting US Flag
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.