The United States’ men’s national team wore orange armbands in support of tighter gun control during Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Uruguay.
It came after the team sent a letter to Congress calling for “stronger gun laws” following several mass shootings in the country in recent weeks.
The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on gun control legislation in the coming days.
US head coach Gregg Berhalter said he was “really proud” of his team.
“It’s sometimes easy to get caught up in our little world and what we’re doing and then you forget about what’s happening in the outside world, but this group certainly didn’t do that,” he said.
“And you saw the letter and the orange armbands. And everyone’s just tired, and it’s good that this group is asking for action and asking people to make change, and being the change is something we’ve been part of for a while now.”
In the letter, signed by players and staff, the team implored Congress to “stand with the majority of Americans who support stronger gun laws”.
“As athletes who have the privilege of traveling the globe representing the greatest country in the world, we are often asked how in a place like the United States there can be such horrific gun violence” the letter read.
“We are also asked why the representatives of the people do nothing even though most Americans want them to take action. Those of us who play professionally abroad experience none of these things in our daily lives, yet we return home to a place where mass shootings are frighteningly common and the victims are often defenceless children.”
It added: “Our ability to affect change is limited, but yours is not.
“You could vote this week to address gun violence in America, and in fact, you will be given that opportunity. In the coming days, the US House of Representatives is voting on several bills that would address this serious issue. Please vote yes on all the bills being considered.”
Speaking after Sunday’s friendly, US defender Walker Zimmerman said: “We want to be a team that takes action and has a response, and for the guys to unanimously step up and say, no, we want to send this letter, we approve this letter, it just makes me proud to be a part of it.
“I think it shows our growth as men, as United States citizens, as representatives of this country at that level. So I’m proud of the group in the way that we are standing up for what we believe in.”
As part of “Wear Orange Weekend”, players for the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics wore ‘End Gun Violence’ t-shirts before game two of the NBA Finals, among a host of other teams across the US.
At the French Open last week, American tennis player Coco Gauff wrote ‘Peace – end gun violence’ on a camera lens after reaching the final at Roland Garros.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 239 mass shootings in the US so far in 2022.
