With the start of soccer’s preeminent event, the World Cup, less than a week away, the U.S. men’s national team seems less concerned with winning than with making unnecessary political statements. The Daily Mail reports that “the United States’ men’s national team have made a huge statement at the World Cup in Qatar by redesigning their crest to incorporate the rainbow flag, in a bid to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.”

Here’s the new logo in all its glory:

NEW – No longer just red stripes. United States redesigns its crest with rainbow colors ahead of World Cup in Qatar.

It's now a blue "USA" with LGBTQ+ color stripes below.https://t.co/8jhKElnXjH pic.twitter.com/4rnmCO7Fhe

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 14, 2022

Using the colors of the gay pride flag, of course, is meant to give the middle finger to host country Qatar, a Middle Eastern country that has been accused of human rights violations against homosexuals. Qatar is a Muslim-majority country, so it’s no surprise that its laws and customs differ from those of the western world. Certainly, FIFA, the governing body of the World Cup, knew this when they awarded Qatar this year’s hosting responsibilities.

This is just the latest tired and meaningless act of woke performance art to make its way into sports. The women’s soccer team, led by whiner extraordinaire Megan Rapinoe, has clearly wielded some kind of influence over their male counterparts. Wouldn’t it be a more powerful statement for all involved in the U.S. Men’s National Team — players, coaches, the parent organization — to donate any and all earnings related to the World Cup to an international gay rights organization? Please don’t hold your breath on that one.

TheBlaze’s T.J. Moe gets it exactly right here:

The red, white and blue represents all Americans. Changing the colors for “inclusion” is an absolute disgrace. There is no upgrade from the red, white and blue. https://t.co/rL8nsFkr4C

— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) November 14, 2022

It’s an unnecessary and unserious move by a team that hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory in previous World Cup appearances:

Through their 11 World Cups ahead of 2022, the United States have played 33 games (with 8 wins, 19 losses and six draws). They’ve amassed a total of 37 goals while conceding 62.

World Cup action begins Sunday and runs into December. It is unclear if the U.S. team will take to the pitch sporting their woke jerseys, but doing so would certainly put an undue burden on the players who are there, presumably, to win. Time to put away the dramatic statements and unabashed wokery and let the team battle it out based on their athletic merits, not their political leanings. In other words, shut up and play.